title: Effect of Saturated Very Long-Chain Fatty Acids on the Organization of Lipid Membranes: A Study Combining (2)H NMR Spectroscopy and Molecular Dynamics Simulations.
abstract: Little is known about the interaction of very long-chain saturated fatty acids (VLCFAs) with biological membranes. However, this could play an important role on interleaflet interactions and signal transduction mechanisms in cells. The aim of this work is to determine how VLCFA structurally adapts in fluid phospholipid bilayers, since both species must exhibit a significant hydrophobic mismatch. The membrane organization has been described by means of (2)H NMR and molecular dynamics simulations. Our results show that the protonation state affects the position and order of free fatty acids (FFAs) in phospholipid membranes. It was shown that the protonated FFA-C24 carboxyl group is located slightly under the POPC head group and therefore its acyl chain can interact with the lipids of the opposite leaflet. This interdigitation of the end of the acyl chain causes a second plateau observed in SC-D profiles, a very unusual feature in lipid systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Université de Montréal , C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada.
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paz Ramos
authors.affiliation: Institute for Integrative Systems Biology, Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Bio-Informatics, Pavillon Alexandre-Vachon, Université Laval , 1045 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada.|The Quebec Network for Research on Protein Function, Engineering, and Applications (PROTEO) , 1045 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lagüe
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Centre for Research in Molecular Modeling (CERMM), Concordia University , 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada.|The Quebec Network for Research on Protein Function, Engineering, and Applications (PROTEO) , 1045 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, Québec G1V 0A6, Canada.
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lamoureux
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Université de Montréal , C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lafleur
mesh_terms: D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; C028694:1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine