Separation and composition of the phospholipids of ox heart

The Cardiac Lipidome in Models of Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. There are numerous factors involved in the development of CVD. Among these, lipids have an important role in maintaining the myocardial cell structure as well as cardiac function. Fatty acids (FA) are utilized for energy, but also contribute to the pathogenesis of CVD and heart failure. Advances in mass spectrometry methods have enabled the comprehensive analysis of a plethora of lipid species from a single sample comprised of a heterogeneous population of lipid molecules. Determining cardiac lipid alterations in different models of CVD identifies novel biomarkers as well as reveals molecular mechanisms that underlie disease development and progression. This information could inform the development of novel therapeutics in the treatment of CVD. Herein, we provide a review of recent studies of cardiac lipid profiles in myocardial infarction, obesity, and diabetic and dilated cardiomyopathy models of CVD by methods of mass spectrometry analysis.

Direct MALDI-MS analysis of cardiolipin from rat organs sections

Cardiolipins (CL) are mitochondria specific lipids. They play a critical role in ATP synthesis mediated by oxidative phosphorylation. Abnormal CL distribution is associated with several disease states. MALDI-MS and MALDI-MS/MS were used to demonstrate in situ analysis and characterization of CL from tissue sections of organs containing high concentrations of mitochondria. Once the experimental parameters were established, a survey of CL distribution in heart, liver, kidney, leg muscle, and testis was undertaken. The major CL specie in the heart muscle, leg muscle, liver, and kidney is the (18:2)(4) CL, while liver and kidney also contain a minor specie, (18:2)(3)/(18:1) CL. The major CL specie in testis is the (16:0)(4) CL. The CL species distribution in various organs appeared to be in agreement with prior reports. Overall, proper matrix selection, tissue section handling, instrument tuning, and the inclusion of cesium ion in matrix ensured successful in situ MALDI-MS and MALDI-MS/MS analysis of CL. Upon modification and standardization, this method could be streamlined for rapid pathological diagnosis with short turnaround time in clinical settings.

The action of phospholipase C on ethanolamine plasmalogen (2-acyl-1-alkenylglycerylphosphorylethanolamine)

1. The phospholipase C of Bacillus cereus attacks the ethanolamine plasmalogen of brain to yield a plasmalogenic diglyceride (2-acyl-1-alkenylglycerol). 2. This plasmalogenic diglyceride is analogous to the material obtained by the action of the phospholipase C of Clostridium welchii on the choline plasmalogen of heart.

Incorporation of isobutyrate and valerate into cellular plasmalogen by Bacteroides succinogenes

Wegner, G. H. (University of Wisconsin, Madison) and E. M. Foster. Incorporation of isobutyrate and valerate into cellular plasmalogen by Bacteroides succinogenes. J. Bacteriol. 85:53-61. 1963.-Bacteroides succinogenes was found to require both a branched-chain volatile fatty acid (e.g., isobutyric) and a straight-chain acid (e.g., valeric) for growth. The organism used the acids as precursors for the synthesis of long-chain fatty acids and fatty aldehydes, which in turn were employed in the synthesis of phospholipid, mainly ethanolamine plasmalogen. Isobutyric acid was incorporated primarily into branched-chain C(14) and C(16) acids (tentatively identified as 12-methyl tridecanoic and 14-methyl pentadecanoic acids, respectively), and into fatty aldehydes. Valeric acid was used mainly for the synthesis of n-C(13) and n-C(15) fatty acids and fatty aldehydes. Apparently the two short-chain fatty acids were built up by the addition of two-carbon units to form the long-chain acids and aldehydes of the plasmalogen.

Cardiolipin synthase from mammalian mitochondria

Cardiolipin was first isolated from beef heart and was shown to contain an unusually high content of linoleic acid ester residues. Cardiolipin is found throughout the eukaryotes including animals, plants and fungi. In mammalian tissue and in yeast, cardiolipin is found exclusively in mitochondria. Mitochondrial synthesis of cardiolipin utilizes phosphatidylglycerol and CDP-diacylglycerol as substrates in a reaction which requires a divalent cation (Mg2+, Mn2+ or Co2+). Cardiolipin synthase has been purified to near-homogeneity from rat liver by solubilization with Zwittergent 3-14 followed by FPLC anion exchange, gel permeation and chromatofocusing steps. Cardiolipin synthase has a molecular mass of 50 kDa, a pH optimum of 8.0, and requires added phospholipids (phosphatidylethanolamine and cardiolipin) and 4 mM Co2+ for optimal activity. Except for the effects of divalent cations and the requirement for phospholipids, little is known about the regulation of cardiolipin synthase. Cardiolipin deficiency in aging mitochondria has been linked to decreased metabolite transport across the inner membrane. Both cardiolipin levels and cardiolipin synthase activity are increased in hyperthyroidism and decreased in hypothyroidism suggesting regulation by thyroid hormone. Mammalian cardiolipin synthase has not been sequenced or cloned and its biological role in mitochondria is not yet fully understood.

THE MAGNESIUM-ION-DEPENDENT CLEAVAGE OF THE VINYL ETHER LINKAGE OF BRAIN ETHANOLAMINE PLASMALOGEN

1. There was a significant decrease in the amount of endogenous ethanolamine phospholipids when preparations of whole brain were incubated in bicarbonate-Ringer solutions, leading in particular to the hydrolysis of vinyl ether groups. 2. The hydrolysis of ethanolamine phospholipids in such preparations was abolished in the absence of bivalent cations. 3. An enzyme present in extracts of acetone-dried brain powders that cleaved the vinyl ether linkage in ethanolamine plasmalogen maximally at pH 7.4 required Mg(2+) for activity. 4. The cleavage of the vinyl ether linkage of an ethanolamine lysoplasmalogen was enhanced in the presence of Mg(2+) but the requirement was not absolute.

THE ISOLATION AND PARTIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE GLYCOLIPIDS OF BP8/C3H ASCITES-SARCOMA CELLS

1. The total lipid was extracted from BP8/C3H ascites-sarcoma cells with acetone, light petroleum, pyridine and chloroform-methanol successively. Each extract was treated with mild alkali. The alkali-stable lipids from the pyridine and chloroform-methanol extracts, which included the glycolipids, were fractionated on silicic acid and silica gel G columns. 2. The total yield of glycolipid was about 60 mg./100 g. dry wt. of tumour cells, about 0.4% of the total lipid. Four classes of glycolipid were isolated and characterized as ceramide monohexoside (G1), ceramide dihexoside (G2), ceramide trihexoside (G3) and ceramide hexosaminyltrihexoside (G4). 3. G1, G2, G3 and G4 constituted 55, 21, 9 and 15% of the total glycolipid respectively. 4. G1 was a mixture of ceramide glucoside (70%) and ceramide galactoside. 5. The general structures of the oligosaccharide moieties of G2, G3 and G4 were elucidated by partial acid hydrolysis of the glycolipids with water-soluble polystyrenesulphonic acid. G2 was mostly ceramidelactoside with about 10% of ceramide galactosylgalactoside. G3 and G4 were probably a ceramide digalactosylglucoside and a ceramide N-acetylgalactosaminylgalactosylgalactosylglucoside respectively. 6. The fatty acid compositions of the glycolipids were very similar; lignoceric acid and nervonic acid were the major components and all contained monohydroxy acids in proportions varying from 10 to 25% of the total acids.

LIPID COMPOSITION OF HUMAN BONE MARROW

1. A modified method for the analysis of phospholipid mixtures by selective hydrolysis is described. 2. The phospholipid compositions of normal human bone marrow and of the bone marrows of patients who died with anaemia or various forms of leukaemia were investigated. 3. Phospholipids from normal bone marrow comprised about 44% of lecithin, 4% of choline plasmalogen, 7% of glyceryl ether phospholipid (choline base), 10% of sphingomyelin, 22% of phosphatidylethanolamine plus phosphatidylserine, 8% of ethanolamine plasmalogen and 5% of glyceryl ether phospholipid (ethanolamine base). 4. The proportion of kephalin (i.e. phosphatidylethanolamine plus phosphatidylserine) in the pathological bone marrows tended to be lower than normal. No other consistent differences were observed between the normal and pathological samples. 4. A ceramide dihexoside was isolated from normal bone marrow.

pH-dissociation characteristics of cardiolipin and its 2'-deoxy analogue

Cardiolipin (CL) is found in inner mitochondrial membranes and the plasma membrane of aerobic prokaryotes. CL is tightly bound to those transmembrane enzymes associated with oxidative phosphorylation. CL has earlier been reported to have a single pK at low pH. We have titrated CL in aqueous suspension (bilayers) and in solution in methanol/water (1:1, vol/vol) and found it to display two different pK values, pK1 at 2.8 and pK2 initially at 7.5 but shifting upwards to 9.5 as the titration proceeds. The unusually high pK2 might be explained by the formation of a unique hydrogen bond in which the free hydroxyl on the central glycerol forms a cyclic intramolecular hydrogen-bonded structure with one protonated phosphate (P-OH group). We have therefore chemically synthesized the 2'-deoxycardiolipin analogue, which lacks the central free hydroxyl group, and measured its pH-dissociation behavior by potentiometric titration, under the same conditions as those for CL. The absence of the hydroxyl group changes the titration dramatically so that the deoxy analogue displays two closely spaced low pK values (pK1 = 1.8; pK2 = 4.0). The anomalous titration behavior of the second dissociation constant of CL may be attributed to the participation of the central glycerol OH group in stabilizing the formation of a cyclic hydrogen-bonded monoprotonated form of CL, which may function as a reservoir of protons at relatively high pH. This function may have an important bearing on proton pumping in biological membranes.

Tissue distribution of an endogenous ligand to the Na, K ATPase molecule

A variety of evidence indicates the presence of a circulating ligand to the Na, K ATPase molecule that is involved in the regulation of extracellular sodium metabolism. To examine the potential role of endogenous ligands to the Na, K ATPase molecule in the regulation of intracellular sodium metabolism, the tissue distribution of digitalis-like activity was quantitated in several brain regions and peripheral organs. The digitalis-like activity of desalted and delipidated extracts of tissue was widely distributed and produced a displacement of tritiated ouabain that was parallel to the displacement produced by cold ouabain. These results suggest that tissue contains an endogenous ligand to the Na, K ATPase molecule and that this ligand may regulate intracellular sodium metabolism in an autocoid-like manner.

Positional distribution of fatty acids in cardiolipin of mitochondria from 21-day-old rats

Pure cardiolipins (1,3-diphosphatidylglycerol) were prepared from mitochondria of heart, liver and kidney from 21-day-old male Wistar rats and submitted to Naja naja venom phospholipase A2 (EC 3.1.1.4) action. Incubation conditions were controlled carefully, and a complete hydrolysis of cardiolipin to lysocardiolipin (di [1 (1'') acyl sn-glycero-3-phosphoryl] 1',3'-sn-glycerol) and fatty acids from positions 2(2'') was obtained in less than two hr practically without side reactions. Cardiolipins from the three organs contained low levels of saturated fatty acids; stearic acid accounted for 0.4-0.7% and palmitic acid for 1.4-3.5% of total fatty acids. These percentages apparently depended on the organ. In all three cases, linoleic acid was the major component, but its percentage varied from 62-78% of total fatty acids. Acyl chains linked to positions 1 (1'') of all three cardiolipin preparations exhibited a similar pattern: they were composed of linoleic acid for 85-89%. This fatty acid also was the main component esterified at position 2 (2''), but its percentage was much more variable: from 39.8% in heart to 51.2% in kidney and 67.8% in liver mitochondria. The remaining acids comprised octadecenoic and polyunsaturated fatty acids with more than 18 carbon atoms in different proportions. As opposed to other phospholipids, cis-vaccenic acid, and not oleic acid, was the main octadecenoic acid present in cardiolipins. Octadecenoic acids were nine- to 10-fold more concentrated at positions 2 (2'') than at positions 1 (1''). The percentage of cis-vaccenic acid was four- to five-fold higher than that of oleic acid at positions 2 (2''), whereas oleic acid dominated at positions 1 (1'').(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Further aspects of the Ca2+-dependent polymorphism of bovine heart cardiolipin

The influence of cations on the structure of aqueous dispersions of the sodium salt of bovine heart cardiolipin was investigated using binding experiments, 31P-NMR, freeze-fracture electron microscopy, small angle X-ray diffraction and batch calorimetry techniques. In the 1-3 mM concentration range, Ca2 induces a bilayer leads to hexagonal HII transition for the lipid. During this transition there is a marked increase in Ca2+ binding from a maximum of 0.35 Ca/cardiolipin in the bilayer to 1.0 Ca/cardiolipin in the hexagonal HII phase. Only when the cardiolipin liposomes are exposed to locally high Ca2+ concentrations is the bilayer leads to hexagonal HII transition accompanied by the appearance of an intermediate 'isotropic' structure characterized by an isotropic 31P-NMR signal and lipidic particles. In contrast, in mixed dioleoylphosphatidylcholine/cardiolipin (1:1) liposomes, Ca2+ concentrations as low as 100 microM will induce an 'isotropic' structure under conditions where no locally high Ca2+ concentrations can occur. In this system at higher Ca2+ concentrations (above 5 mM) the hexagonal HII phase formation occurs. At least 80% of the phosphatidylcholine can be incorporated into this phase. The Ca2+ -induced bilayer to hexagonal transition is an endothermic reaction with a delta H of approx. 1.8 kcal/mol. Removal of Ca2+ from the hexagonally organized calcium-cardiolipin (1:1) complex by dialysis is an extremely slow process with a half-time in excess of 80 h. After 23 h of dialysis at a Ca/cardiolipin ratio of 0.86 an 'isotropic' structure is observed, characterized by an isotropic 31P-NMR signal and the presence of lipidic particles. After 70 h of dialysis (Ca/cardiolipin = 0.7) a new phase is observed. This phase which is optically isotropic and highly viscous separates from a lipid-free aqueous phase and contains 111 mM cardiolipin (15.5% by weight). The phospholipid molecules undergo rapid isotropic motion and the freeze-fracture morphology indicates the presence of a highly curved interconnected bilayer network separating various aqueous compartments. No defined X-ray diffraction bands can be observed for this phase. These characteristics are typical for cubic phases. This phase is metastable as mechanical agitation immediately induces the formation of large bilayer vesicles.