The Influence of Membrane Lipids in Staphylococcus aureus Gamma-Hemolysins Pore Formation

Journal of Membrane Biology volume 227, Article number: 13 (2009) Cite this article

Abstract

The natural target of Staphylococcus aureus bicomponent γ-hemolysins are leucocyte cell membranes. Because a proteinaceous receptor has not been found yet, we checked for the importance of the different membrane lipid compositions by measuring the activity of the toxin on several pure lipid model membranes. We investigated the effect of membrane thickness, fluidity, and presence of nonbilayer lipids and found that the toxin pore-forming ability increased in the presence of phosphocholines with short saturated acyl chains or with unsaturated chains even though not short. An increase of activity was also evident in the presence of cone-shaped lipids like phosphatidylethanolamine or diphytanoylphosphatidylcholine, whereas cylindrical lipids, like sphingomyelin, did not favor the activity. All these results suggest that γ-hemolysins could bind to the bilayer only if the phosphatidylcholine (PC) head is freely accessible. This condition is satisfied by the concurrent presence of cholesterol and certain lipids, as highlighted by the so-called umbrella model (J. Huang and G. W. Feigenson, Biophys J 76:2142–2157, 1999). According to this model, cholesterol could help to a better exposition of PC head groups only if acyl chains are short or unsaturated. In fact, phosphatidylcholines with more than 13 carbon atoms acyl chains can cover cholesterol molecules; in this way, PC head groups pack tightly, rendering them inaccessible to the toxin, which thus shows a reduced pore-forming ability.

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Abbreviations

HlgA/HlgB:

Staphylococcus aureus γ-hemolysins A and B

Cho:

Cholesterol

PC:

Phosphatidylcholine

DePC:

DiElaidoyl PC

DMoPC:

DiMyristoleoyl PC

DPoPC:

DiPalmitoleoyl PC

DOPC:

DiOleoyl PC

DPhPC:

DiPhytanoyl PC

DPPC:

Dipalmitoyl PC

PE:

Egg Phosphatidyl-ethanolamine

POPC:

Palmitoyl Oleoyl PC

SM:

Sphingomyelin

Tm :

Main transition temperature

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Acknowledgments

This work started under the supervision of Gianfranco Menestrina, and we dedicate this article to his memory. The present work was supported by the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), the Istituto Trentino di Cultura (ITC), the Provincia Autonoma di Trento (PAT) Fondo Progetti (Projects StaWars and Plugs), and EA-3432 from the “Institut de Bactériologie de la Faculté de Médecine,” Strasbourg. It was also partially sponsored by Fondazione Cariverona, Bando 2003.

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  1. C. Potrich

    Present address: Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK), Via Sommarive 18, 38100, Povo (Trento), Italy

Affiliations

  1. FBK-CNR Istituto di Biofisica, via alla Cascata 56/C, 38100, Povo (Trento), Italy

    C. Potrich, H. Bastiani & M. Dalla Serra

  2. Institut de Bactériologie, UPRES EA-3432, 3, rue Koeberlé, 67000, Strasbourg, France

    D. A. Colin, S. Huck & G. Prévost

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  1. C. Potrich
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  2. H. Bastiani
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  3. D. A. Colin
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  4. S. Huck
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  5. G. Prévost
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  6. M. Dalla Serra
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Correspondence to C. Potrich.

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Potrich, C., Bastiani, H., Colin, D.A. et al. The Influence of Membrane Lipids in Staphylococcus aureus Gamma-Hemolysins Pore Formation. J Membrane Biol 227, 13 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00232-008-9140-6

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Keywords

  • γ-Hemolysins
  • Cone-shaped lipids
  • Umbrella model
  • Phosphocholine head groups