Description
Intramolecular excimerization of 1,3-di- l-pyrenylpropane
[Py(3)Py] was used to assess the fluidity of sarcoplasmic
reticulum membranes (SR); on the basis of the
spectral data, the probe incorporates completely inside the
membrane probably somewhere close to the polar head groups
of phospholipid molecules, however not in the very hydrophobic
core. The excimerization rate is very sensitive to lipid phase
transitions, as revealed by thermal profiles of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine
(DMPC) and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine
(DPPC) bilayers. Cholesterol abolishes pretransitions
and broadens the thermal profiles of the main transitions which
vanish completely at 50 mol % sterol. Excimer formation in
liposomes of SR total lipid extracts does not show any sharp
transitions, as in the case of DMPC and DPPC. However,
the plots display discontinuities at about 20 OC which are
broadened by cholesterol and not observed at 50 mol % sterol. Also cholesterol has been incorporated in native SR membranes
by an exchange technique allowing progressive enrichment
without changing the phospholipid/protein molar
ratio. As in liposomes, discontinuities of excimer formation
at 20 OC are broadened by cholesterol enrichment. The full
activity of uncoupled Ca*+-ATPase is only affected by cholesterol
above a molar ratio to phospholipid of 0.4. However,
a significant decrease in activity (about 20%) is only noticed
at a ratio of 0.6 (the highest technically achieved); at this ratio,
about 28 lipid molecules per CaZ+-ATPase are expected to be
relatively free from cholesterol interaction. The vesicle
structure is still intact at this high ratio, as judged from the
absence of basal activity (not Ca2+ stimulated). However, the
sterol significantly decreases to about 60% the energetic efficiency
of Ca2+ pumping (CaZ+/ATP ratio). http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/bi00315a029