Titration calorimetry was employed to measure the critical micelle concentration (cmc) and the heat of demicellization A/fdemic of the four surfactants octyl glucoside, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), sodium cholate, and sodium deoxycholate at temperatures between 10 and 70-80 °C. From these data, the thermodynamic parameters AGdemic, Anemic, and ACp,demic associated with the demicellization process were calculated. Titration calorimetry has the advantage that the cmc and the thermodynamic parameter AFÍáemic can be directly measured, whereas with other methods /fdemic has to be calculated from the temperature dependence of the cmc, which requires high precision for the cmc data. Changes in temperature caused large variations of A//demic and ASdemic, whereas AGdemic remained virtually constant. Therefore, the changes in enthalpy and entropy almost completely compensate each other. At room temperature, the entropy was found to be the dominant factor responsible for micellization, whereas at elevated temperatures contributions from enthalpy dominate. These observations are in agreement with data of other processes where hydrophobic effects play a major role and were used to discuss the nature of the driving forces that rule micelle formation at various temperatures. Furthermore, predictions regarding the degree of hydration of the micelle interior were made. It is shown that titration calorimetry is an easy and fast method to determine the cmc and the demicellization enthalpy from a single experiment. For surfactants with low aggregation numbers the titration curves could be simulated using a mass action model.

Two mechanisms have been proposed to account for solute permeation of lipid bilayers. Partitioning into the hydrophobic phase of the bilayer, followed by diffusion, is accepted by many for the permeation of water and other small neutral solutes, but transient pores have also been proposed to account for both water and ionic solute permeation. These two mechanisms make distinctively different predictions about the permeability coefficient as a function of bilayer thickness. Whereas the solubility-diffusion mechanism predicts only a modest variation related to bilayer thickness, the pore model predicts an exponential relationship. To test these models, we measured the permeability of phospholipid bilayers to protons, potassium ions, water, urea, and glycerol. Bilayers were prepared as liposomes, and thickness was varied systematically by using unsaturated lipids with chain lengths ranging from 14 to 24 carbon atoms. The permeability coefficient of water and neutral polar solutes displayed a modest dependence on bilayer thickness, with an approximately linear fivefold decrease as the carbon number varied from 14 to 24 atoms. In contrast, the permeability to protons and potassium ions decreased sharply by two orders of magnitude between 14 and 18 carbon atoms, and leveled off, when the chain length was further extended to 24 carbon atoms. The results for water and the neutral permeating solutes are best explained by the solubility-diffusion mechanism. The results for protons and potassium ions in shorter-chain lipids are consistent with the transient pore model, but better fit the theoretical line predicted by the solubility-diffusion model at longer chain lengths.

No abstract

Two alternative mechanisms are frequently used to describe ionic permeation of lipid bilayers. In the first, ions partition into the hydrophobic phase and then diffuse across (the solubility-diffusion mechanism). The second mechanism assumes that ions traverse the bilayer through transient hydrophilic defects caused by thermal fluctuations (the pore mechanism). The theoretical predictions made by both models were tested for halide anions by measuring the permeability coefficients for chloride, bromide, and iodide as a function of bilayer thickness, ionic radius, and sign of charge. To vary the bilayer thickness systematically, liposomes were prepared from monounsaturated phosphatidylcholines (PC) with chain lengths between 16 and 24 carbon atoms. The fluorescent dye MQAE (N-(ethoxycarbonylmethyl)-6-methoxyquinolinium bromide) served as an indicator for halide concentration inside the liposomes and was used to follow the kinetics of halide flux across the bilayer membranes. The observed permeability coefficients ranged from 10(-9) to 10(-7) cm/s and increased as the bilayer thickness was reduced. Bromide was found to permeate approximately six times faster than chloride through bilayers of identical thickness, and iodide permeated three to four times faster than bromide. The dependence of the halide permeability coefficients on bilayer thickness and on ionic size were consistent with permeation of hydrated ions by a solubility-diffusion mechanism rather than through transient pores. Halide permeation therefore differs from that of a monovalent cation such as potassium, which has been accounted for by a combination of the two mechanisms depending on bilayer thickness.

Sodium/potassium-ATPase (Na/K-ATPase) is a transmembrane enzyme that utilizes energy gained from ATP hydrolysis to transport sodium and potassium ions across cell membranes in opposite directions against their chemical and electrical gradients. Its transport activity is effectively inhibited by cardiac glycosides, which bind to the extracellular side of the enzyme and are of significant therapeutic value in the treatment of congestive heart failure. To determine the extent to which high-affinity binding of cardiac glycosides correlates with their potency in inhibiting pump activity, we determined experimentally both the binding affinities and inhibitory potencies of a series of 37 cardiac glycosides using radioligand binding and ATPase activity assays. The observed variations in key structural elements of these compounds correlating with binding and inhibition were analyzed by comparative molecular similarity index analysis (CoMSIA), which allowed a molecular level characterization and comparison of drug-Na/K-ATPase interactions that are important for ligand binding and activity inhibition. In agreement with our earlier comparative molecular field analysis studies [Farr, C. D., et al. (2002) Biochemistry 41, 1137-1148], the CoMSIA models predicted favorable inhibitor interactions primarily at the alpha-sugar and lactone ring moieties of the cardiac glycosides. Unfavorable interactions were located about the gamma-sugar group and at several positions about the steroid ring system. Whereas for most compounds a correlation between binding affinity and inhibitory potency was found, some notable exceptions were identified. Substitution of the five-membered lactone of cardenolides with the six-membered lactone of bufadienolides caused binding affinity to decline but inhibitory potency to increase. Furthermore, while the removal of ouabain's rhamnose moiety had little effect on inhibitory potency, it caused a dramatic decline in ligand binding affinity.

Human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) designed for immunotherapy have a high potential for avoiding the complications that may result from human immune system responses to the introduction of nonhuman mAbs into patients. This study presents a characterization of cocaine/antibody interactions that determine the binding properties of the novel human sequence mAb 2E2 using three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR) methodology. We have experimentally determined the binding affinities of mAb 2E2 for cocaine and 38 cocaine analogues. The K(d) of mAb 2E2 for cocaine was 4 nM, indicating a high affinity. Also, mAb 2E2 displayed good cocaine specificity, as reflected in its 10-, 1500-, and 25000-fold lower binding affinities for the three physiologically relevant cocaine metabolites benzoylecgonine, ecgonine methyl ester, and ecgonine, respectively. 3D-QSAR models of cocaine binding were developed by comparative molecular similarity index analysis (CoMSIA). A model of high statistical quality was generated showing that cocaine binds to mAb 2E2 in a sterically restricted binding site that leaves the methyl group attached to the ring nitrogen of cocaine solvent-exposed. The methyl ester group of cocaine appears to engage in attractive van der Waals interactions with mAb 2E2, whereas the phenyl group contributes to the binding primarily via hydrophobic interactions. The model further indicated that an increase in partial positive charge near the nitrogen proton and methyl ester carbonyl group enhances binding affinity and that the ester oxygen likely forms an intermolecular hydrogen bond with mAb 2E2. Overall, the cocaine binding properties of mAb 2E2 support its clinical potential for development as a treatment of cocaine overdose and addiction.

No abstract

The ion transport activity of the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase (SERCA) is specifically and potently inhibited by the small molecule 2,5-di-tert-butylhydroquinone (BHQ). In this study, we investigated the relative importance of the nature and position of BHQ's four substituents for enzyme inhibition by employing a combination of experimental and computational techniques. The inhibitory potencies of 21 commercially available or synthesized BHQ derivatives were determined in ATPase activity assays, and 11 compounds were found to be active. Maximum inhibitory potency was observed in compounds with two para hydroxyl groups, whereas BHQ analogues with only one hydroxyl group were still active, albeit with a reduced potency. The results also demonstrated that two alkyl groups were an absolute requirement for activity, with the most potent compounds having 2,5-substituents with four or five carbon atoms at each position. Using the program GOLD in conjunction with the ChemScore scoring function, the structures of the BHQ analogues were docked into the crystal structure of SERCA mimicking the enzyme's E(2) conformation. Analysis of the docking results indicated that inhibitor binding to SERCA was primarily mediated by a hydrogen bond between a hydroxyl group and Asp-59 and by hydrophobic interactions involving the bulky inhibitor alkyl groups. Attempts to dock BHQ into crystal structures corresponding to the E(1) conformation of the enzyme failed, because the conformational changes accompanying the E(2)/E(1) transition severely restricted the size of the binding site, suggesting that BHQ stabilizes the enzyme in its E(2) form. The potential role of Glu309 in enzyme inhibition is discussed in the context of the computational results. The docking scores correlated reasonably well with the measured inhibitory potencies and allowed the distinction between active and inactive compounds, which is a key requirement for future virtual screening of large compound databases for novel SERCA inhibitors.