"Primitive" membrane from polyprenyl phosphates and polyprenyl alcohols.
Polyprenyl phosphates, as well as polyprenyl alcohols bearing different isopentenyl C(5) units, have been synthesized. The pH range of spontaneous vesicle formation of polyprenyl phosphates with or without polyprenyl alcohols was defined by fluorescence microscopy. A variety of the acyclic or monocyclic polyprenyl phosphates studied formed stable vesicles in water over a wide range of pHs, and the addition of polyprenyl alcohols allowed the vesicle formation of polyprenyl phosphates at higher pHs. Osmotic swelling of a suspension of unilamellar vesicles using the stopped-flow/light-scattering method enabled us to evaluate the water permeability of polyprenyl phosphate vesicles with or without 10 mol% of free polyprenyl alcohol. The addition of many polyprenyl alcohols to polyprenyl phosphate vesicles decreased the water permeability, and some reduced it even more efficiently than cholesterol.
Streiff
Stéphane
S
Centre de Neurochimie CNRS, Institut de Chimie LC3-UMR 7177, Université Louis Pasteur, 5 rue Blaise Pascal, F-67084 Strasbourg, France.
Ribeiro
Nigel
N
Wu
Zhengyan
Z
Gumienna-Kontecka
Elzbieta
E
Elhabiri
Mourad
M
Albrecht-Gary
Anne Marie
AM
Ourisson
Guy
G
Nakatani
Yoichi
Y
D000438:Alcohols / Q000737:chemistry*; D007700:Kinetics; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008858:Microscopy, Phase-Contrast; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010539:Permeability; D011106:Polyisoprenyl Phosphates / Q000737:chemistry*; D013729:Terpenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000737:chemistry; D014867:Water
D000438:Alcohols; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D011106:Polyisoprenyl Phosphates; D013729:Terpenes; D014867:Water; D014212:Tretinoin; C034534:3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-2,4,6,10,14-hexadecapentaenoic acid