Efficient cationic lipid-mediated delivery of antisense oligonucleotides into eukaryotic cells: down-regulation of the corticotropin-releasing factor receptor.

Oligonucleotides (ODNs) can be employed as effective gene-specific regulators. However, before ODNs can reach their targets, several physical barriers have to be overcome, as although ODNs may pass cell membranes, most become sequestered in endocytic compartments. Accordingly, sophisticated strategies are required for efficient delivery. Here we have employed a pyridinium-based synthetic amphiphile, called SAINT-2, which carries ODNs into cells in a highly efficient, essentially non-toxic and serum-insensitive manner. Intracellular delivery was examined by monitoring the trafficking of fluorescent ODNs and lipid, and by measuring the effect of specific antisense ODNs on target mRNA and protein levels of the receptor for the neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF-R), expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells. ODN delivery is independent of lipoplex size, and fluorescently tagged ODNs readily acquire access to the nucleus, whereas the carrier itself remains sequestered in the endosomal-lysosomal pathway. While the release is independent of the presence of serum, it is not observed when serum proteins gain access within the lipoplex, and which likely stabilizes the lipoplex membrane. We propose that the amphiphile-dependent aggregate structure governs complex dissociation, and hence, the biological efficiency of ODNS: We demonstrate an essentially non-toxic and effective antisense-specific down-regulation of the CRF-R, both at the mRNA and protein level.

Asymmetric fusion between synthetic di-n-dodecylphosphate vesicles and virus membranes.

The interaction between vesicles, prepared from the synthetic amphiphile di-n-dodecylphosphate (DDP), with Sendai virus membranes was investigated. DDP vesicles fuse in the presence of Ca2+ ('symmetric' fusion). However, in the absence of Ca2+, DDP vesicles and Sendai virus, both displaying a high intrinsic fusion capacity with various target membranes, can also readily fuse with each other ('asymmetric' fusion). Under these conditions, fusion was found not to depend on specific viral proteins. Thus fusion occurs over a broad pH range (3.0-9.0) and is not affected by perturbation of viral protein structure. The overall interaction process was further analyzed with a mass action kinetic model. The analysis reveals that the destabilization and reorganization of the synthetic and viral bilayers are as fast as in pure phospholipid systems. Furthermore, the drastic effect of temperature on the overall reaction appears to be related to an effect of this parameter on fusion itself rather than on vesicle-virus aggregation. This could suggest that protein mobility constraints modulate the fusion reaction. The morphology of the fusion products, which consist of a single virus particle and several DDP vesicles, indicates a bilayer stabilization of the fusion product, rather than formation of tubular structures, as observed for symmetric DDP fusion products. The present results further emphasize the high susceptibility of vesicles composed of synthetic amphiphiles to engage in (protein-mediated) membrane fusion. This bears relevance to their potential application as carriers for biomolecules.

Parameters influencing the introduction of plasmid DNA into cells by the use of synthetic amphiphiles as a carrier system.

Parameters that affect cellular transfection as accomplished by introducing DNA via carriers composed of cationic synthetic amphiphiles, have been investigated, with the aim to obtain insight into the mechanism of DNA translocation. Such insight may be exploited in optimizing carrier properties of synthetic amphiphiles for molecules other than nucleic acids. In the present work, the interaction of vesicles composed of the cationic amphiphile dioleyloxy-propyl-trimethylammonium chloride (DOTMA) with cultured cells was examined. The results show that optimal transfection is dependent on the concentration of lipid, which determines the efficiency of vesicle interaction with the target cell membrane, as well as the toxicity of the amphiphiles towards the cell. A low lipid/DNA ratio prevents the complex from interacting with the cell surface, whereas at a relatively high amphiphile concentration the complex becomes toxic. Translocation efficiency is independent of the initial vesicle size but is affected by the size of the DNA. An incubation time of the DNA/amphiphile complex and cells of approx. 2-4 h is required for obtaining efficient transfection. In conjunction with observations on DNA/amphiphile complex-induced hemolysis of erythrocytes, a mechanism of DNA-entry is proposed which involves translocation of the nucleic acids through pores across the membranes rather than delivery via fusion or endocytosis. Dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine, a phospholipid frequently used in a mixture with DOTMA ('lipofectin') strongly facilitates this pore formation. Translocation of the DNA is effectively prevented when the cells are pretreated with Ca2+ or pronase. These observations suggest that Ca(2+)-sensitive cell surface proteins play a role in amphiphile-mediated DNA translocation.

Efficient catalysis of a Diels-Alder reaction by metallo-vesicles in aqueous solution.

Vesicles have been prepared from a cyclic phosphate ester (5,5-di-n-dodecyl-2-hydroxy-1,3,2-dioxaphosphorinan-2-one) with copper(II) counterions (Cu(dDP)(2)). They form a highly efficient aqueous Lewis acid catalyst system. The reaction of two azachalcon derivatives (1a, 1b) with cyclopentadiene (2) was studied to elucidate the catalytic potential of this system.

Vesicles accelerate proton transfer from carbon up to 850-fold.

[reaction: see text] We have analyzed the different catalytic effects of surfactant aggregates upon the rate-determining hydroxide ion induced deprotonation reaction of 1. Vesicles are more effective catalysts than micelles, most likely providing a more apolar microenvironment at the substrate binding sites. We suggest that this leads to a catalytic reaction involving less strongly hydrated hydroxide ions. In the case of DODAB and DODAC vesicles, binding of cholesterol to the bilayer further increases the catalytic efficiency.

Understanding organic reactions in water: from hydrophobic encounters to surfactant aggregates.

A crucial factor in realising a green chemical process in solution involves the choice of a safe, non-toxic and cheap solvent. Water is the obvious choice. Despite solubility problems, considerable interest has developed recently in organic chemistry in water. This interest also results from the fact that association and chemical reactions often benefit noticeably from the special properties of water, resulting mainly from its small molecular size, its three-dimensional hydrogen-bond network and hydrophobic interactions which are so unique for liquid water. Here we discuss organic reactions and assembly processes in water, largely taken from experiments performed in the authors' laboratories. We show that non-covalent interactions in water can be utilised for fine tuning organic reactions in aqueous media.

Thermodynamics of micellar systems: comparison of mass action and phase equilibrium models for the calculation of standard Gibbs energies of micelle formation.

Micellar colloids are distinguished from other colloids by their association-dissociation equilibrium in solution between monomers, counter-ions and micelles. According to classical thermodynamics, the standard Gibbs energy of formation of micelles at fixed temperature and pressure can be related to the critical micelle concentration. This relation is different for two models which are widely used to describe micelle formation, namely the Phase Separation and the Mass Action Models. These approaches and the assumptions upon which they are based are analysed in this paper. We show that the two models can be generalised to include surfactant salts having different stoichiometries.

Electron microscopic investigation of the morphology and calcium-induced fusion of lipid vesicles with an oligomerised inner leaflet.

The lipid head groups in the inner leaflet of unilamellar bilayer vesicles of the synthetic lipids DHPBNS and DDPBNS can be selectively oligomerised. Earlier studies have established that these vesicles fuse much slower and less extensively upon oligomerisation of the lipid head groups. The morphology and calcium-induced fusion of vesicles of DHPBNS and DDPBNS were investigated using cryo-electron microscopy. DHPBNS vesicles are not spherical but flattened, ellipsoidal structures. Upon addition of CaCl(2), DHPBNS vesicles with an oligomerised inner leaflet were occasionally observed in an arrested hemifused state. However, the evidence for hemifusion is not equivocal due to potential artefacts of sample preparation. DDPBNS vesicles show the expected spherical morphology. Upon addition of excess CaCl(2), DDPBNS vesicles fuse into dense aggregates that show a regular spacing corresponding to the bilayer width. Upon addition of EDTA, the aggregates readily disperse into large unilamellar vesicles. At low concentration of calcium ion, DDPBNS vesicles with an oligomerised inner leaflet form small multilamellar aggregates, in which a spacing corresponding to the bilayer width appears. Addition of excess EDTA results in slow dispersal of the Ca2+-lipid aggregates into a heterogeneous mixture of bilamellar, spherical vesicles and networks of thread-like vesicles. These lipid bilayer rearrangements are discussed within the context of shape transformations and fusion of lipid membranes.

AOT-based microemulsions accelerate the 1,3-cycloaddition of benzonitrile oxide to N-ethylmaleimide.

We studied the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of benzonitrile oxide to N-ethylmaleimide in AOT/isooctane/water microemulsions at 25.0 degrees C and found the reaction rate to be roughly 150 and 35 times greater than that in isooctane and pure water, respectively. The accelerating effect of the microemulsion is the combined result of an increase in the local concentrations of the reactants through incorporation into the interface and of the intrinsic rate of the process through electrostatic interactions with the headgroups in the surfactant.

Water in oil microemulsions as reaction media for a Diels-Alder reaction between N-ethylmaleimide and cyclopentadiene.

The Diels-Alder reaction between N-ethylmaleimide and cyclopentadiene in water/AOT/isooctane microemulsions, where AOT denotes sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate, was studied. The rate of the reaction was found to be higher than that obtained in pure isooctane, irrespective of the particular microemulsion composition used. The efficiency of this catalytic action ranged from a factor of 3 at low water contents (viz., W = [H2O]/[AOT] = 2) to 15 at W = 35. On the basis of these results, the reaction takes place simultaneously in the continuous medium and at the microemulsion interface. The favorable arrangement of the reactants at the interface results in more than 95% of the reaction occurring in this microenvironment. The kinetic analysis revealed the rate constant at the microemulsion interface to change with the water content. For small W values a bimolecular rate constant at the interface close to that observed in hexane was obtained. This value increases with W and for W > 20, a value close to that obtained in ethanol was found. This can be ascribed to the absence of hydrogen bonding at the microemulsion interface as well as the accelerating effects due to enforced hydrophobic interactions.

Thermodynamic analysis of binding of p-substituted benzamidines to trypsin.

Understanding the structural basis of inhibitor-enzyme interactions, important for the design of new drugs, requires a complete thermodynamic characterization of the binding process as well as a description of the structure of the complex. In this paper, the binding of p-substituted benzamidinium derivatives to the structurally well-characterized serine proteinase bovine pancreatic trypsin has been studied using isothermal titration calorimetry. These experiments have permitted a complete characterization of the temperature dependence of the inhibitor-binding thermodynamics. At 25 degrees C, both the enthalpy and entropy of binding are favourable for all studied derivatives, but this is only true for a relatively narrow temperature range. As binding is characterized by a negative change in heat capacity, the process is characterized by enthalpy--entropy compensation, resulting in a change of the net thermodynamic driving force for association from entropic to enthalpic with increasing temperature. These phenomena are not unusual when hydrophobic forces play an important role. The trend in the relative binding potencies can, to a significant extent, be attributed to the electron-donating/withdrawing character of the substituent at the para position, as shown by the Hammett sigma(p)(+) plot for the different inhibitors; the more polar the p-substituted benzamidine, the less potent it will be as a trypsin inhibitor. This behaviour might result from a bulk solvation effect, meaning that the more polar, lower potency inhibitors will be more stabilized in water than the less polar, higher potency inhibitors.

Effect of poly(ethylene glycol) on the Ca2+-induced fusion of didodecyl phosphate vesicles.

This paper reports a study of the effect of the dehydrating agent poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) on didodecyl phosphate (DDP) bilayers and on the fusion activity of DDP vesicles as a function of the molecular weight of PEG. PEG 8K in a concentration of 10 wt % does not induce fusion. However, Ca2+-induced fusion is promoted as reflected by a lowering of the Ca2+ threshold concentration. This effect can most likely be attributed to the dehydrating capacity of the polymer. Interestingly, low concentrations (0.1 wt %) of PEG 20 K induce a moderate fusion capacity. At higher concentrations (0.5 wt %) fusion is inhibited, irrespective of the presence of Ca2+. These molecular weight dependent effects can be rationalized by taking into account that the clouding temperature differs for PEGs of different molecular weights. In the case of PEG 20K a microscopic phase separation will occur at the bilayer-water interface because PEG-PEG interactions and presumably PEG-DDP interactions are favored over PEG-water interactions. As a consequence, the DDP vesicle surface becomes covered with PEG 20K, resulting in a steric stabilization of the vesicles. This will impede or prevent, depending on the polymer concentration, the vesicles from approaching each other sufficiently close for fusion to occur.

Asymmetric fusion between phospholipid vesicles and vesicles formed from synthetic di(n-alkyl)phosphates.

We have investigated the fusion behavior of a mixed vesicle system consisting of vesicles prepared from the simple synthetic surfactants di(n-dodecyl)phosphate (DDP) or di(n-tetradecyl)phosphate (DTP) and vesicles prepared from the phospholipids phosphatidylserine (PS) or dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC). Fusion between the vesicles, induced by Ca2+, was determined by a resonance energy transfer assay for lipid mixing, sucrose density gradient analysis, and electron microscopy. We demonstrate that synthetic surfactant vesicles can specifically engage in asymmetric fusion events, provided that the incubation temperature is kept below the gel-liquid crystalline phase-transition temperature (Tc) of the synthetic amphiphile (29 and 48 degrees C for DDP and DTP, respectively) and that the physical state of the target membrane is fluid. Asymmetric fusion of DDP or DTP vesicles was most efficient with PS vesicles, but it also occurred with zwitterionic PC vesicles. In the latter case, fusion proceeded spontaneously, but the process was markedly accelerated upon addition of Ca2+. Furthermore, in contrast to a massive transformation of bilayer into nonbilayer hexagonal HII tubular structures, as occurs upon symmetric Ca(2+)-induced fusion of DDP vesicles, asymmetric fusion with phospholipid bilayers predominantly leads to the formation of larger vesicles. This indicates that both PS and DOPC stabilize the DDP bilayer structure in the fusion product.

Fusion of Sendai virus with vesicles of oligomerizable lipids: a microcalorimetric analysis of membrane fusion.

Sendai virus fuses efficiently with small and large unilamellar vesicles of the lipid 1,2-di-n-hexadecyloxypropyl-4- (beta-nitrostyryl) phosphate (DHPBNS) at pH 7.4 and 37 degrees C, as shown by lipid mixing assays and electron microscopy. However, fusion is strongly inhibited by oligomerization of the head groups of DHPBNS in the bilayer vesicles. The enthalpy associated with fusion of Sendai virus with DHPBNS vesicles was measured by isothermal titration microcalorimetry, comparing titrations of Sendai virus into (i) solutions of DHPBNS vesicles (which fuse with the virus) and (ii) oligomerized DHPBNS vesicles (which do not fuse with the virus), respectively. The observed heat effect of fusion of Sendai virus with DHPBNS vesicles is strongly dependent on the buffer medium, reflecting a partial charge neutralization of the Sendai F and HN proteins upon insertion into the negatively-charged vesicle membrane. No buffer effect was observed for the titration of Sendai virus into oligomerized DHPBNS vesicles, indicating that inhibition of fusion is a result of inhibition of insertion of the fusion protein into the target membrane. Fusion of Sendai virus with DHPBNS vesicles is endothermic and entropy-driven. The positive enthalpy term is dominated by heat effects resulting from merging of the protein-rich viral envelope with the lipid vesicle bilayers rather than by the fusion of the viral with the vesicle bilayers per se.

Membrane fusion in vesicles of oligomerizable lipids.

Membrane fusion has been examined in a model system of small unilamellar vesicles of synthetic lipids that can be oligomerized through the lipid headgroups. The oligomerization can be induced either in both bilayer leaflets or in the inner leaflet exclusively. Oligomerization leads to denser lipid headgroup packing, with concomitant reduction of lipid lateral diffusion and membrane permeability. As evidenced by lipid mixing assays, electron microscopy, and light scattering, calcium-induced fusion of the bilayer vesicles is strongly retarded and inhibited by oligomerization. Remarkably, oligomerization of only the inner leaflet of the bilayer is already sufficient to affect fusion. The efficiency of inhibition and retardation of fusion critically depend on the relative amount of oligomeric lipid present, on the concentration of calcium ions, and on temperature. Implications for the mechanism of bilayer membrane fusion are discussed in terms of lipid lateral diffusion and membrane curvature effects.

Glutathione transferase mimics: micellar catalysis of an enzymic reaction.

Substances that mimic the enzyme action of glutathione transferases (which serve in detoxification) are described. These micellar catalysts enhance the reaction rate between thiols and activated halogenated nitroarenes as well as alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyls. The nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction is enhanced by the following surfactants in descending order: poly(dimethyldiallylammonium - co - dodecylmethyldiallylammonium) bromide (86/14) >>cetyltrimethylammonium bromide>zwittergent 3-16 (n-hexadecyl-N,N-dimethyl-3-ammonio-1-propanesulphonate)>zwittergent+ ++ 3-14 (n-tetradecyl-N,N-dimethyl - 3 - ammonio -1 - propanesulphonate) approximately N,N - dimethyl - laurylamine N-oxide>N,N-dimethyloctylamine N-oxide. The most efficient catalyst studied is a polymeric material that incorporates surfactant properties (n-dodecylmethyldiallylammonium bromide) and opens up possibilities for engineering sequences of reactions on a polymeric support. Michael addition to alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyls is exemplified by a model substance, trans-4-phenylbut-3-en-2-one, and a toxic compound that is formed during oxidative stress, 4-hydroxy-2-undecenal. The latter compound is conjugated with the highest efficiency of those tested. Micellar catalysts can thus be viewed as simple models for the glutathione transferases highlighting the influence of a positive electrostatic field and a non-specific hydrophobic binding site, pertaining to two catalytic aspects, namely thiolate anion stabilization and solvent shielding.

Kinetic evidence for hydrophobically stabilized encounter complexes formed by hydrophobic esters in aqueous solutions containing monohydric alcohols.

The pH-independent hydrolysis of four esters, p-methoxyphenyl 2,2-dichloroethanoate (1a), p-methoxyphenyl 2,2-dichloropropanoate (1b), p-methoxyphenyl 2,2-dichlorobutanoate (1c), and p-methoxyphenyl 2,2-dichloropentanoate (1d), in dilute aqueous solution has been studied as a function of the molality of added cosolutes ethanol, 1-propanol, and 1-butanol. The rate constants for the neutral hydrolysis decrease with increasing cosolute concentration. These kinetic medium effects respond to both the hydrophobicity of the ester and of the monohydric alcohol. The observed rate effects were analyzed using both a thermodynamic and a kinetic model. The kinetic model suggests a molecular picture of a hydrophobically stabilized encounter complex, with equilibrium constants K(ec) often smaller than unity, in which the cosolute blocks the reaction center of the hydrolytic ester for attack by water. The formation of these encounter complexes leads to a dominant initial-state stabilization as follows from the thermodynamic model. Decreases in both apparent enthalpies and entropies of activation for these hydrolysis reactions correspond to unfavorable enthalpies and favorable entropies of complexation, which confirms that the encounter complexes are stabilized by hydrophobic interactions.

Calcium-induced fusion of didodecylphosphate vesicles: the lamellar to hexagonal II (HII) phase transition.

Electron microscopic techniques have been employed to investigate the ability of didodecylphosphate vesicles (diameter approx. 900 A) to fuse in the presence of Ca2+. As revealed by negative staining, Ca2+ induces extensive fusion and large vesicles with diameters up to 7000 A are formed. In a process secondary to fusion, the fused vesicles display a tendency to flatten and are subsequently transformed into extended tubular structures. Freeze-fracture electron microscopy, in conjunction with 31P NMR and selected area electron diffraction measurements indicate that the tubes are packed in a hexagonal (HII) array and that the amphiphiles are converted from the lamellar to the hexagonal HII phase. The relationship between membrane fusion and the lamellar-to-hexagonal phase transition is discussed in terms of formation and abundance of transiently stable inverted micellar intermediates at contact regions between two interacting membranes. A model for the conversion of the (vesicular) lamellar into the (tubular) hexagonal HII phase is presented, taking into account the molecular shape of the amphiphile. The relevance of using simple synthetic amphiphiles as models for phospholipid bilayers and complex biomembrane behavior is briefly discussed.