scholarly journals Checks and balances in membrane phospholipid class and acyl chain homeostasis, the yeast perspective

2013 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 374-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anton I.P.M. de Kroon ◽  
Pieter J. Rijken ◽  
Cedric H. De Smet
1981 ◽  
Vol 195 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Orlacchio ◽  
C Maffei ◽  
L Binaglia ◽  
G Porcellati

The phospholipid acyl-chain dependence of the membrane-bound lysosomal beta-N-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase has been examined on control membranes from rat brain primary cell cultures and on membrane modified by culturing the cells in media supplemented with polyunsaturated fatty acids. The relationship between beta-N-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase activity and the membrane phospholipid acyl-chain composition has been evaluated. An increase in the unsaturation level of phosphatidyl ethanolamines and phosphatidylcholines, the most abundant phospholipids in this membrane fraction, is related to the rate of the enzymic reaction. The Arrhenius plot of the enzyme activity in modified membranes shows break-temperatures, starting from approximately 15 degrees C. The apparent activation energy below and above the break-temperature is not correlated with phospholipid acyl-chain unsaturation.


2011 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Springer ◽  
Edwin R. Price ◽  
Raymond Thomas ◽  
Christopher G. Guglielmo

2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (13) ◽  
pp. 3655-3660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Schneiter ◽  
Verena Tatzer ◽  
Gabriela Gogg ◽  
Erich Leitner ◽  
Sepp Dieter Kohlwein

ABSTRACT Saccharomyces cerevisiae medium-chain acyl elongase (ELO1) mutants have previously been isolated in screens for fatty acid synthetase (FAS) mutants that fail to grow on myristic acid (C14:0)-supplemented media. Here we report that wild-type cells cultivated in myristoleic acid (C14:1Δ9)-supplemented media synthesized a novel unsaturated fatty acid that was identified as C16:1Δ11 fatty acid by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy. Synthesis of C16:1Δ11 was dependent on a functional ELO1 gene, indicating that Elo1p catalyzes carboxy-terminal elongation of unsaturated fatty acids (α-elongation). In wild-type cells, the C16:1Δ11elongation product accounted for approximately 12% of the total fatty acids. This increased to 18% in cells that lacked a functional acyl chain desaturase (ole1Δ mutants) and hence were fully dependent on uptake and elongation of C14:1. The observation thatole1Δ mutant cells grew almost like wild type on medium supplemented with C14:1 indicated that uptake and elongation of unsaturated fatty acids were efficient. Interestingly, wild-type cells supplemented with either C14:1 or C16:1 fatty acids displayed dramatic alterations in their phospholipid composition, suggesting that the availability of acyl chains is a dominant determinant of the phospholipid class composition of cellular membranes. In particular, the relative content of the two major phospholipid classes, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine, was strongly dependent on the chain length of the supplemented fatty acid. Moreover, analysis of the acyl chain composition of individual phospholipid classes in cells supplemented with C14:1 revealed that the relative degree of acyl chain saturation characteristic for each phospholipid class appeared to be conserved, despite the gross alteration in the cellular acyl chain pool. Comparison of the distribution of fatty acids that were taken up and elongated (C16:1Δ11) to those that were endogenously synthesized by fatty acid synthetase and then desaturated by Ole1p (C16:1Δ9) in individual phospholipid classes finally suggested the presence of two different pools of diacylglycerol species. These results will be discussed in terms of biosynthesis of different phospholipid classes via either the de novo or the Kennedy pathway.


Author(s):  
Vitthal S. Kulkarni ◽  
Wayne H. Anderson ◽  
Rhoderick E. Brown

The biological significance of the sphingomyelins (SM) and monoglycosylated sphingolipids like galactosylceramides (GalCer) are well documented Our recent investigation showed tubular bilayers in the aqueous dispersions of N-nervonoyl GalCer [N-(24:lΔ15,cls) GalCer] (a major fatty acyl moiety of natural GalCer). To determine the influence of lipid head groups on the resulting mesophasic morphology, we investigated microstructural self-assemblies of N-nervonoyl-SM [N-(24:1 Δ15,cls) SM; the second most abundant sphingomyelin in mammalian cell membranes], 1- palmitoyl-2-nervonoyl phosphatidylcholine [PNPC] (the lipid species with the same acyl chain configuration as in N-(24: 1) GalCer) and also compared it with egg-SM by freeze-fracture EM.Procedures for synthesizing and purifying N-(24:1) GalCer, N-(24:1) SM, and PNPC have been reported . Egg-SM was purchased from Avanti Polar Lipids, Alabaster AL. All lipids were >99% pure as checked by thin layer chromatography. Lipid dispersions were prepared by hydrating dry lipid with phosphate buffer (pH 6.6) at 80-90°C (3-5 min), vigorously vortexing (1 min) and repeating this procedure for three times prior to three freeze-thaw cycles.


2005 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 177-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Félix M. Goñi ◽  
F-Xabier Contreras ◽  
L-Ruth Montes ◽  
Jesús Sot ◽  
Alicia Alonso

In the past decade, the long-neglected ceramides (N-acylsphingosines) have become one of the most attractive lipid molecules in molecular cell biology, because of their involvement in essential structures (stratum corneum) and processes (cell signalling). Most natural ceramides have a long (16-24 C atoms) N-acyl chain, but short N-acyl chain ceramides (two to six C atoms) also exist in Nature, apart from being extensively used in experimentation, because they can be dispersed easily in water. Long-chain ceramides are among the most hydrophobic molecules in Nature, they are totally insoluble in water and they hardly mix with phospholipids in membranes, giving rise to ceramide-enriched domains. In situ enzymic generation, or external addition, of long-chain ceramides in membranes has at least three important effects: (i) the lipid monolayer tendency to adopt a negative curvature, e.g. through a transition to an inverted hexagonal structure, is increased, (ii) bilayer permeability to aqueous solutes is notoriously enhanced, and (iii) transbilayer (flip-flop) lipid motion is promoted. Short-chain ceramides mix much better with phospholipids, promote a positive curvature in lipid monolayers, and their capacities to increase bilayer permeability or transbilayer motion are very low or non-existent.


Author(s):  
Christina L. Davis

The World Trade Organization (WTO) oversees the negotiation and enforcement of formal rules governing international trade. Why do countries choose to adjudicate their trade disputes in the WTO rather than settling their differences on their own? This book investigates the domestic politics behind the filing of WTO complaints and reveals why formal dispute settlement creates better outcomes for governments and their citizens. It demonstrates that industry lobbying, legislative demands, and international politics influence which countries and cases appear before the WTO. Democratic checks and balances bias the trade policy process toward public lawsuits and away from informal settlements. Trade officials use legal complaints to manage domestic politics and defend trade interests. WTO dispute settlement enables states and domestic groups to signal resolve more effectively, thereby enhancing the information available to policymakers and reducing the risk of a trade war. The book establishes this argument with data on trade disputes and landmark cases, including the Boeing-Airbus controversy over aircraft subsidies, disagreement over Chinese intellectual property rights, and Japan's repeated challenges of U.S. steel industry protection. The book explains why the United States gains better outcomes for cases taken to formal dispute settlement than for those negotiated. Case studies of Peru and Vietnam show that legal action can also benefit developing countries.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Katev ◽  
Zahari Vinarov ◽  
Slavka S. Tcholakova

Despite the widespread use of lipid excipients in both academic research and oral formulation development, rational selection guidelines are still missing. In the current study, we aimed to establish a link between the molecular structure of commonly used polar lipids and drug solubilization in biorelevant media. We studied the effect of 26 polar lipids of the fatty acid, phospholipid or monoglyceride type on the solubilization of fenofibrate in a two-stage <i>in vitro</i> GI tract model. The main trends were checked also with progesterone and danazol.<br>Based on their fenofibrate solubilization efficiency, the polar lipids can be grouped in 3 main classes. Class 1 substances (n = 5) provide biggest enhancement of drug solubilization (>10-fold) and are composed only by unsaturated compounds. Class 2 materials (n = 10) have an intermediate effect (3-10 fold increase) and are composed primarily (80 %) of saturated compounds. Class 3 materials (n = 11) have very low or no effect on drug solubilization and are entirely composed of saturated compounds.<br>The observed behaviour of the polar lipids was rationalized by using two classical physicochemical parameters: the acyl chain phase transition temperature (<i>T</i><sub>m</sub>) and the critical micellar concentration (CMC). Hence, the superior performance of class 1 polar lipids was explained by the double bonds in their acyl chains, which: (1) significantly decrease <i>T</i><sub>m</sub>, allowing these C18 lipids to form colloidal aggregates and (2) prevent tight packing of the molecules in the aggregates, resulting in bigger volume available for drug solubilization. Long-chain (C18) saturated polar lipids had no significant effect on drug solubilization because their <i>T</i><sub>m</sub> was much higher than the temperature of the experiment (<i>T</i> = 37 C) and, therefore, their association in colloidal aggregates was limited. On the other end of the spectrum, the short chain octanoic acid manifested a high CMC (50 mM), which had to be exceeded in order to enhance drug solubilization. When these two parameters were satisfied (C > CMC, <i>T</i><sub>m</sub> < <i>T</i><sub>exp</sub>), the increase of the polar lipid chain length increased the drug solubilization capacity (similarly to classical surfactants), due to the decreased CMC and bigger volume available for solubilization.<br>The hydrophilic head group also has a dramatic impact on the drug solubilization enhancement, with polar lipids performance decreasing in the order: choline phospholipids > monoglycerides > fatty acids.<br>As both the acyl chain length and the head group type are structural features of the polar lipids, and not of the solubilized drugs, the impact of <i>T</i><sub>m</sub> and CMC on solubilization by polar lipids should hold true for a wide variety of hydrophobic molecules. The obtained mechanistic insights can guide rational drug formulation development and thus support modern drug discovery pipelines.<br>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Katev ◽  
Zahari Vinarov ◽  
Slavka S. Tcholakova

Despite the widespread use of lipid excipients in both academic research and oral formulation development, rational selection guidelines are still missing. In the current study, we aimed to establish a link between the molecular structure of commonly used polar lipids and drug solubilization in biorelevant media. We studied the effect of 26 polar lipids of the fatty acid, phospholipid or monoglyceride type on the solubilization of fenofibrate in a two-stage <i>in vitro</i> GI tract model. The main trends were checked also with progesterone and danazol.<br>Based on their fenofibrate solubilization efficiency, the polar lipids can be grouped in 3 main classes. Class 1 substances (n = 5) provide biggest enhancement of drug solubilization (>10-fold) and are composed only by unsaturated compounds. Class 2 materials (n = 10) have an intermediate effect (3-10 fold increase) and are composed primarily (80 %) of saturated compounds. Class 3 materials (n = 11) have very low or no effect on drug solubilization and are entirely composed of saturated compounds.<br>The observed behaviour of the polar lipids was rationalized by using two classical physicochemical parameters: the acyl chain phase transition temperature (<i>T</i><sub>m</sub>) and the critical micellar concentration (CMC). Hence, the superior performance of class 1 polar lipids was explained by the double bonds in their acyl chains, which: (1) significantly decrease <i>T</i><sub>m</sub>, allowing these C18 lipids to form colloidal aggregates and (2) prevent tight packing of the molecules in the aggregates, resulting in bigger volume available for drug solubilization. Long-chain (C18) saturated polar lipids had no significant effect on drug solubilization because their <i>T</i><sub>m</sub> was much higher than the temperature of the experiment (<i>T</i> = 37 C) and, therefore, their association in colloidal aggregates was limited. On the other end of the spectrum, the short chain octanoic acid manifested a high CMC (50 mM), which had to be exceeded in order to enhance drug solubilization. When these two parameters were satisfied (C > CMC, <i>T</i><sub>m</sub> < <i>T</i><sub>exp</sub>), the increase of the polar lipid chain length increased the drug solubilization capacity (similarly to classical surfactants), due to the decreased CMC and bigger volume available for solubilization.<br>The hydrophilic head group also has a dramatic impact on the drug solubilization enhancement, with polar lipids performance decreasing in the order: choline phospholipids > monoglycerides > fatty acids.<br>As both the acyl chain length and the head group type are structural features of the polar lipids, and not of the solubilized drugs, the impact of <i>T</i><sub>m</sub> and CMC on solubilization by polar lipids should hold true for a wide variety of hydrophobic molecules. The obtained mechanistic insights can guide rational drug formulation development and thus support modern drug discovery pipelines.<br>


2016 ◽  
pp. 54-66
Author(s):  
Monika Poboży

The article poses a question about the existence of the rule of separation of powers in the EU institutional system, as it is suggested by the wording of the treaties. The analysis led to the conclusion, that in the EU institutional system there are three separated functions (powers) assigned to different institutions. The Council and the European Parliament are legislative powers, the Commission and the European Council create a “divided executive”. The Court of Justice is a judicial power. The above mentioned institutions gained strong position within their main functions (legislative, executive, judicial), but the proper mechanisms of checks and balances have not been developed, especially in the relations between legislative and executive power. These powers do not limit one another in the EU system. In the EU there are therefore three separated but arbitrary powers – because they do not limit and balance one another, and are not fully controlled by the member states.


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