Interactions between sphingomyelin and cholesterol in low density lipoproteins and model membranes.

This work examines three related, but previously unexplored, aspects of membrane biophysics and colloid science in the context of atherosclerosis. First, we show that sphingomyelinase (SMase)-induced aggregation of low density lipoproteins (LDLs), coupled with LDL exposure to cholesterol esterase (CEase), results in nucleation of cholesterol crystals, long considered the hallmark of atherosclerosis. In particular, this study reveals that the order of enzyme addition does not effect the propensity of LDL to nucleate cholesterol crystals, raising the possibility that nucleation can proceed from either the intra- or extracellular space. Second, we demonstrate that ceramide-rich aggregates of LDL release cholesterol to neighboring vesicles far more rapidly, and to a greater extent, than does native LDL. A likely explanation for this observation is displacement of cholesterol from SM-Chol rafts by "raft-loving" ceramide. Third, we demonstrate that a time-independent Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay, based on dehydroergosterol and dansylated lecithin and used previously to study cholesterol nanodomains, can be used to measure raft sizes (on the order of 10 nm) in model membrane systems. Taken together, these observations point to the possibility of an extracellular nucleation mechanism and underscore the important role that biological colloids play in human disease.

Interaction of apolipoprotein A-I with lecithin-cholesterol vesicles in the presence of phospholipase C.

Here we study the anti-nucleating mechanism of apolipoprotein A-I (apo A-I) on model biliary vesicles in the presence of phospholipase C (PLC) utilizing dynamic light scattering (DLS), steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy, cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), and UV/Vis spectroscopy. PLC induces aggregation of cholesterol-free lecithin vesicles from an initial, average size of 100 nm to a maximal size of 600 nm. The presence of apo A-I likely inhibits vesicle aggregation by shielding the PLC-generated hydrophobic moieties, which results in vesicles of an average size of 200 nm. A similar phenomenon is observed in cholesterol-enriched lecithin vesicles. Whereas PLC alone produces aggregates of 300 nm, no aggregation is observed when apo A-I is present along with PLC. However, the ability of apo A-I to inhibit aggregation is temporary, and after 8 h, a broad particle size distribution with sizes as high as 800 nm is observed. Apo A-I possibly induces the formation of small apo A-I/lecithin/cholesterol complexes of about 5-20 nm similar to the discoidal pre-HDL complexes found in blood when it can no longer effectively shield all the DAG molecules. Concomitant with formation of complexes, DAG molecules coalesce into large oil droplets, which account for the large particles observed by light scattering. Thus, apo A-I acts as an anti-nucleating agent by two mechanisms, anti-aggregation and microstructural transition. The mode of protection is dependent on the cholesterol content and the relative amounts of DAG and apo A-I present. This study supports the possibility of apo A-I solubilizing lipids in bile in a similar fashion as it does in blood and also delineates the mechanism of formation of the complexes.