scholarly journals Plasma membrane asymmetry of lipid organization: fluorescence lifetime microscopy and correlation spectroscopy analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 252-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjali Gupta ◽  
Thomas Korte ◽  
Andreas Herrmann ◽  
Thorsten Wohland

A fundamental feature of the eukaryotic cell membrane is the asymmetric arrangement of lipids in its two leaflets. A cell invests significant energy to maintain this asymmetry and uses it to regulate important biological processes, such as apoptosis and vesiculation. The dynamic coupling of the inner or cytoplasmic and outer or exofacial leaflets is a challenging open question in membrane biology. Here, we combined fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) with imaging total internal reflection fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (ITIR-FCS) to differentiate the dynamics and organization of the two leaflets of live mammalian cells. We characterized the biophysical properties of fluorescent analogs of phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin, and phosphatidylserine in the plasma membrane of two mammalian cell lines (CHO-K1 and RBL-2H3). Because of their specific transverse membrane distribution, these probes allowed leaflet-specific investigation of the plasma membrane. We compared the results of the two methods having different temporal and spatial resolution. Fluorescence lifetimes of fluorescent lipid analogs were in ranges characteristic for the liquid ordered phase in the outer leaflet and for the liquid disordered phase in the inner leaflet. The observation of a more fluid inner leaflet was supported by free diffusion in the inner leaflet, with high average diffusion coefficients. The liquid ordered phase in the outer leaflet was accompanied by slower diffusion and diffusion with intermittent transient trapping. Our results show that the combination of FLIM and ITIR-FCS with specific fluorescent lipid analogs is a powerful tool for investigating lateral and transbilayer characteristics of plasma membrane in live cell lines.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjali Gupta ◽  
Thomas Korte ◽  
Andreas Herrmann ◽  
Thorsten Wohland

ABSTRACTA fundamental feature of a eukaryotic cell membrane is the asymmetric arrangement of lipids in the two leaflets. A cell invests significant energy to maintain this asymmetry and utilizes it to regulate important biological processes such as apoptosis and vesiculation. Here, we employ fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) and imaging total internal reflection fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (ITIR-FCS) to differentiate the dynamics and organization of the exofacial and cytoplasmic leaflet of live mammalian cells. We characterize the biophysical properties of fluorescent analogues of phosphatidylcholine (PC), sphingomyelin (SM) and phosphatidylserine (PS) in two mammalian cell membranes. Due to their specific transverse membrane distribution, these probes allow leaflet specific investigation of the plasma membrane. We compare the results with regard to the different temporal and spatial resolution of the methods. Fluorescence lifetimes of fluorescent lipid analogues were found to be in a characteristic range for the liquid ordered phase in the outer leaflet and liquid disordered phase in the inner leaflet. The observation of a more fluid inner leaflet is supported by free diffusion in the inner leaflet with high average diffusion coefficients. The liquid ordered phase in the outer leaflet is accompanied by slower diffusion and diffusion with intermittent transient trapping. Our results show that the combination of FLIM and ITIR-FCS with specific fluorescent lipid analogues provides a powerful tool to investigate lateral and trans-bilayer characteristics of plasma membrane in live cells.Abstract Figure


2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 478-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gagandeep Singh ◽  
James Beddow ◽  
Christopher Mee ◽  
Lidia Maryniak ◽  
Eadaoin M. Joyce ◽  
...  

Copper and copper compounds have multifunctional properties (antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal) with promising applications. Copper in its nanoparticle (Cu NPs) forms has been widely used in various industrial and commercial applications. In the current research, the cytotoxic effects of textile fabrics impregnated with copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) were studied in mammalian cell lines. CuO NPs were impregnated onto textile substrates using 2 different techniques: the sonochemical generation and impregnation of NPs from metal complexes ( insitu) and a “throwing the stones” technology using commercially prepared CuO NPs. The cytotoxicity of these 2 textile fabric types was assayed on human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cells and human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) and was evaluated by indirect contact using an MTT assay. The impregnated fabrics were not exposed to the cells, rather their leachates were used to test cytotoxicity. The fabrics were soaked into the growth media for up to 7 days, and the leachates from day 1 and day 7 were incubated with the cell lines for 24 hours prior to the testing. The discharge or leaching from antimicrobial nanomaterials into the surroundings and surface waters is posing a serious environmental threat, which needs to be addressed. Hence, with regard to product safety, it is a good approach to study the fabric leachates rather than the intact material. The results showed that CuO NPs are not toxic to HDF cells. However, cytotoxicity was seen in HepG2 cells with cell viability decreasing by 20% to 25% for all the fabrics after 24 hours.


2008 ◽  
Vol 76 (10) ◽  
pp. 4600-4608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Heine ◽  
Sascha Pust ◽  
Stefanie Enzenmüller ◽  
Holger Barth

ABSTRACT The binary C2 toxin from Clostridium botulinum mono-ADP-ribosylates G-actin in the cytosol of eukaryotic cells. This modification leads to depolymerization of actin filaments accompanied by cell rounding within 3 h of incubation but does not immediately induce cell death. Here we investigated the long-term responses of mammalian cell lines (HeLa and Vero) following C2 toxin treatment. Cells stayed round even though the toxin was removed from the medium after its internalization into the cells. No unmodified actin reappeared in the C2 toxin-treated cells within 48 h. Despite actin being completely ADP-ribosylated after about 7 h, no obvious decrease in the overall amount of actin was observed for at least 48 h. Therefore, ADP-ribosylation was not a signal for an accelerated degradation of actin in the tested cell lines. C2 toxin treatment resulted in delayed apoptotic cell death that became detectable about 15 to 24 h after toxin application in a portion of the cells. Poly(ADP)-ribosyltransferase 1 (PARP-1) was cleaved in C2 toxin-treated cells, an indication of caspase 3 activation and a hallmark of apoptosis. Furthermore, specific caspase inhibitors prevented C2 toxin-induced apoptosis, implying that caspases 8 and 9 were activated in C2 toxin-treated cells. C2I, the ADP-ribosyltransferase component of the C2 toxin, remained active in the cytosol for at least 48 h, and no extensive degradation of C2I was observed. From our data, we conclude that the long-lived nature of C2I in the host cell cytosol was essential for the nonreversible cytotoxic effect of C2 toxin, resulting in delayed apoptosis of the tested mammalian cells.


2020 ◽  
Vol 153 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory I. Mashanov ◽  
Tatiana A. Nenasheva ◽  
Tatiana Mashanova ◽  
Catherine Maclachlan ◽  
Nigel J.M. Birdsall ◽  
...  

Recent advances in light microscopy allow individual biological macromolecules to be visualized in the plasma membrane and cytosol of live cells with nanometer precision and ∼10-ms time resolution. This allows new discoveries to be made because the location and kinetics of molecular interactions can be directly observed in situ without the inherent averaging of bulk measurements. To date, the majority of single-molecule imaging studies have been performed in either unicellular organisms or cultured, and often chemically fixed, mammalian cell lines. However, primary cell cultures and cell lines derived from multi-cellular organisms might exhibit different properties from cells in their native tissue environment, in particular regarding the structure and organization of the plasma membrane. Here, we describe a simple approach to image, localize, and track single fluorescently tagged membrane proteins in freshly prepared live tissue slices and demonstrate how this method can give information about the movement and localization of a G protein–coupled receptor in cardiac tissue slices. In principle, this experimental approach can be used to image the dynamics of single molecules at the plasma membrane of many different soft tissue samples and may be combined with other experimental techniques.


Author(s):  
Megan L. Gelsinger ◽  
Laura L. Tupper ◽  
David S. Matteson

AbstractWe present new methods for cell line classification using multivariate time series bioimpedance data obtained from electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS) technology. The ECIS technology, which monitors the attachment and spreading of mammalian cells in real time through the collection of electrical impedance data, has historically been used to study one cell line at a time. However, we show that if applied to data from multiple cell lines, ECIS can be used to classify unknown or potentially mislabeled cells, factors which have previously been associated with the reproducibility crisis in the biological literature. We assess a range of approaches to this new problem, testing different classification methods and deriving a dictionary of 29 features to characterize ECIS data. Most notably, our analysis enriches the current field by making use of simultaneous multi-frequency ECIS data, where previous studies have focused on only one frequency; using classification methods to distinguish multiple cell lines, rather than simple statistical tests that compare only two cell lines; and assessing a range of features derived from ECIS data based on their classification performance. In classification tests on fifteen mammalian cell lines, we obtain very high out-of-sample predictive accuracy. These preliminary findings provide a baseline for future large-scale studies in this field.


1977 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Middlebrook ◽  
Rebecca B. Dorland

The sensitivities of 21 mammalian cell lines to the exotoxins of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Corynebacterium diphtheriae were measured. Each line exhibited 1–4 log differences in sensitivities to the two toxins. No species-specific sensitivities were noted for Pseudomonas exotoxin while diphtheria exotoxin was most potent in cells of monkey origin, followed by human and hamster cells. Rat-and mouse-derived cell lines were very in sensitive to diphtheria exotoxin. The rates of cellular intoxication by both toxins exhibited apparent first-order kinetics and were indistinguishable from one another when equipotent doses were used. Our preparation of diphtheria exotoxin appeared to have a slightly higher ADP-ribosylating efficiency than did Pseudomonas toxin. However, neither toxin exhibited cell line–specific differences in ribosylating efficiencies which could have explained the wide range in potencies for intact cells. Our results suggest that there are significant differences in the mechanisms of cellular intoxication by Pseudomonas and diphtheria exotoxins and that these differences probably exist in the attachment or internalization stages of toxin action.


2004 ◽  
Vol 820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ales Prokop ◽  
Zdenka Prokop ◽  
David Schaffer ◽  
Eugene Kozlov ◽  
John Wikswo ◽  
...  

AbstractThere is a need for microminiaturized cell-culture environments, i.e., NanoLiter BioReactors (NBRs), for growing and maintaining populations of up to several hundred cultured mammalian cells in volumes three orders of magnitude smaller than those contained in standard multi-well screening plates. Reduced NBR volumes would not only shorten the time required for diffusive mixing, for achieving thermal equilibrium, and for cells to grow to confluence, but also simplify accurate cell counting, minimize required volumes of expensive analytical pharmaceuticals or toxins, and allow for thousands of culture chambers on a single instrumented chip. These devices would enable the development of a new class of miniature, automated cell-based bioanalysis arrays for monitoring the immediate environment of multiple cell lines and assessing the effects of drug or toxin exposure. The challenge, beyond that of optimizing the NBR physically, is to detect cellular response, provide appropriate control signals, and, eventually, facilitate closed-loop adjustments of the environment--e.g., to control temperature, pH, ionic concentration, etc., to maintain homeostasis, or to apply drugs or toxins followed by the adaptive administration of a selective toxin antidote. To characterize in a nonspecific manner the metabolic activity of cells, the biosensor elements of the NBR might include planar pH, dissolved oxygen, and redox potential sensors, or even an isothermal picocalorimeter (pC) to monitor thermodynamic response. Equipped with such sensors, the NBR could be used to perform short- and long-term cultivation of several mammalian cell lines in a perfused system, and to monitor their response to analytes in a massively parallel format. This approach will enable automated, parallel, and multiphasic monitoring of multiple cell lines for drug and toxicology screening. An added bonus is the possibility of studying cell populations with low cell counts whose constituents are completely detached from typical tissue environment, or populations in controlled physical and chemical gradients.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. C. Courtney ◽  
W Pezeshkian ◽  
R Raghupathy ◽  
C Zhang ◽  
A Darbyson ◽  
...  

AbstractMammalian cell sphingolipids, primarily with C24 and C16 acyl chains, reside in the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane. Curiously, little is known how C24 sphingolipids impact cholesterol and membrane microdomains. Here, we generated giant unilamellar vesicles and live mammalian cells with C24 or C16 sphingomyelin exclusively in the outer leaflet and compared microdomain formation. In giant unilamellar vesicles, we observed that asymmetrically placed C24 sphingomyelin suppresses microdomains. Conversely, C16 sphingomyelin facilitates microdomains. Replacing endogenous sphingolipids with C24 or C16 sphingomyelin in live HeLa cells has a similar impact on microdomains, characterized by FRET between GPI-anchored proteins: C24, but not C16, sphingomyelin suppresses submicron domains in the plasma membrane. Molecular dynamics simulations indicated that, when in the outer leaflet, the acyl chain of C24 sphingomyelin interdigitates into the opposing leaflet, thereby favouring cholesterol in the inner leaflet. We indeed found that cholesterol prefers the inner over the outer leaflet of asymmetric unilamellar vesicles (80/20) when C24 sphingomyelin is in the outer leaflet. However, when C16 sphingomyelin is in the outer leaflet, cholesterol is evenly partitioned between leaflets (50/50). Interestingly, when a mixture of C24/C16 sphingomyelin is in the outer leaflet of unilamellar vesicles, cholesterol still prefers the inner leaflet (80/20). Indeed, in human erythrocyte plasma membrane, where a mixture of C24 and C16 sphingolipids are naturally in the outer leaflet, cholesterol prefers the cytoplasmic leaflet (80/20). Therefore, C24 sphingomyelin uniquely interacts with cholesterol and governs the lateral organization in asymmetric membranes, including the plasma membrane, potentially by generating cholesterol asymmetry.Statement of SignificanceThe plasma membrane bilayer of mammalian cells has distinct phospholipids between the outer and inner leaflet, with sphingolipids exclusively in the outer leaflet. A large portion of mammalian sphingolipids have very long acyl chains (C24). Little is known how C24 sphingolipids function in the outer leaflet. Mutations in the ceramide synthase 2 gene is found to decrease C24. This severely perturbs homeostasis in mice and humans. Here, we investigated unilamellar vesicles and mammalian cells with C24 sphingomyelin exclusively in the outer leaflet. We provide evidence that outer leaflet C24 sphingomyelin suppresses microdomains in model membranes and live cells by partitioning cholesterol into the inner leaflet. We propose that C24 sphingolipids are critical to the function of the plasma membrane.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document