Intramembrane molecular dipoles affect the membrane insertion and folding of a model amphiphilic peptide.

The relationship between the dipole potential and the interaction of the mitochondrial amphipathic signal sequence known as p25 with model membranes has been studied using 1-(3-sulfonatopropyl)-4-[beta[2-(di-n-octyl-amino)-6-naphthyl]viny l] pyridinium betaine (di-8-ANEPPS) as a fluorescent probe. The dipole potential of phosphatidylcholine membranes was modified by incorporating into the bilayer the sterols phloretin and 6-ketocholestanol (KC), which decrease and increase the dipole potential, respectively. The results derived from the application of a dual-wavelength ratiometric fluorescence method for following the variation of the membrane dipole potential have shown that when p25 inserts into the lipidic bilayer, a decrease in the dipole potential takes place. The magnitude of this decrease depends on the initial value of the dipole potential, i.e., before interaction with the peptide. Thus, when KC was incorporated into the bilayer, the decrease caused by the membrane insertion of p25 was larger than that caused in PC membranes. Alternatively, in the presence of phloretin, the decrease in the potential caused by the peptide insertion was smaller. Complementary studies involving attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of the peptide membrane interactions have shown that modification of the dipole potential affects the conformation of the peptide during the course of its interaction with the membrane. The presence of KC induces a higher amount of helicoidal structure. The presence of phloretin, however, does not appear to affect the secondary structure of the peptide. The differences observed in the dipole potential decreases caused by the presence of the peptide with the PC membranes and phloretin-PC membranes, therefore, must involve differences in the tertiary and, perhaps, quaternary conformations of p25.