Summary
Nystatin forms two types of channels in sterol-containing planar bilayer membranes. One type is formed when it is added to onlyone side of the membrane: the other is formed when it is added toboth sides of the membrane. The relative permeability of these channels to nonelectrolytes (urea and glycerol) is identical. The sensitivity of membranes to the one-sided action of nystatin is critically dependent on their thickness; in particular, membranes made from monoglycerides with more than 18 carbon atoms in their acyl chain are insensitive to nystatin's one-sided action. These data are consistent with a model in which the two types of channels formed by nystatin have essentially identical structures, except that the channel formed by its two-sided action is twice the length of that formed by its one-sided action, because it is a tail-to-tail dimer of the latter.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andreoli, T.E., Dennis V.W., Weigl, A.M. 1969. The effect of amphotericin B on the water and nonelectrolyte permeability of thin lipid membranes.J. Gen. Physiol. 53:133–156
Andreoli, T.E., Monahan, M. 1968. The interaction of polyene antibiotics with thin lipid membranes.J. Gen. Physiol. 52:300–325
Benz, R., Fröhlich, O., Läuger, P., Montal, M. 1975. Electrical capacity of black lipid films and lipid bilayers made from monolayers.Biochim. Biophys. Acta 394:323–334
Cass, A., Dalmark, M. 1973. Equilibrium dialysis of ions in nystatin-treated red cells.Nature New Biol. 244:47–49
Cass, A., Finkelstein, A., Krespi, V 1970. The ion permeability induced in thin lipid membranes by the polyene antibiotics nystatin and amphotericin B.J. Gen. Physiol. 56:100–124
Fettiplace, R., Andrews, D.M., Haydon, D.A. 1971. The thickness, composition and structure of some lipid bilayers and natural membranes.J. Membrane Biol. 5:277–296
Finkelstein, A., Holz, R. 1973. Aqueous pores created in thin lipid membranes by the polyene antibiotics nystatin and amphotericin B.In: Membranes. Vol. II. Lipid Bilayers and Antibiotics. G. Eisenman. editor. pp. 377–408. Marcel Dekker, New York
Holz, R., Finkelstein, A. 1970. The water and nonelectrolyte permeability induced in thin lipid membranes by the polyene antibiotics nystatin and amphotericin B.J. Gen. Physiol. 56:125–145
Hoogevest, P. van, Kruijff, B. de 1978. Effect of amphotericin B on cholesterol-containing liposomes of egg phosphatidylcholine and didocosenoyl phosphatidylcholine: A refinement of the model for the formation of pores by amphotericin B in membranes.Biochim. Biophys. Acta 511:397–407
Kagawa, Y., Racker, E. 1971. Partial resolution of the enzymes catalyzing oxidative phosphorylation: XXV. Reconstitution of particles catalyzing32Pi-adenosine triphosphate exchange.J. Biol. Chem. 246:5477–5487
Kasumov, K.M., Borisova, M.P., Ermishkin, L.N., Potseluyev, V.M., Silberstein, A.Y.A., Vainstein, V.A. 1979. How do ionic channel properties depend on the structure of polyene antibiotic molecules?Biochim. Biophys. Acta 551:229–237
Kraijff, B. de, Demel, R.A. 1974. Polyene antibiotic-sterol interactions in membranes ofAcholeplasma laidlawaii cells and lecithin liposomes: III. Molecular structure of the polyene antibiotic cholesterol complexes.Biochim. Biophys. Acta 339:57–70
Kruijff, B. de, Gerritsen, W.J., Oerlemans, A., Demel, R.A., van Deenen, L.L.M. 1974. Polyene antibiotic sterol interactions in membranes ofAcholeplasma laidlawaii cells and lecithin liposomes: I. Specificity of the membrane permeability changes induced by the polyene antibiotics.Biochim. Biophys. Acta 339:30–43
Lampen, J.O. 1966. Interference by polyenic antifungal antibiotics (especially nystatin and filipin) with specific membrane functions.In: Biochemical Studies of Antimicrobial Drugs. 16th Symposium of Society for General Microbiology. B.A. Newton and P.E. Reynolds, editors, pp. 111–130. Cambridge University Press, London-New York
Liras, F., Lampen, J.O. 1974. Sequence of candicidin action on yeast cells.Biochim. Biophys. Acta 372:141–153
Marty, A., Finkelstein, A. 1975. Pores formed in lipid bilayer membranes by nystatin. Differences in its one-sided and two-sided action.J. Gen. Physiol. 65:515–526
Mechlinski, W., Schaffner, C.P. 1974. Separation of polyene antifungal antibiotics by high speed liquid chromatography.J. Chromatog. 99:619–633
Mechlinski, W., Schaffner, C.P. 1980. Characterization of aromatic heptaene macrolide antibiotics by high performance liquid chromatography.J. Antibiot. 33:591–599
Medoff, G., Kobayashi, G.A. 1980. The polyenes.In: Antifungal Chemotherapy. D.C.E. Speller. editor. pp. 3–33. John Wiley & Sons, New York
Miller, C., Racker, E. 1976. Fusion of phospholipid vesicles reconstituted with cytochromec oxidase and mitochondrial hydrophobic protein.J. Membrane Biol. 26:319–333
Montal, M. 1974. Formation of bimolecular membranes from lipid monolayers.In: Methods in Enzymology. Vol. XXXII. pp. 545–554. S. Fleischer and L. Packer, editors. Academic Press, New York
Reyes, J., Latorre, R. 1979. Effect of the anesthetics benzyl alcohol and chloroform on bilayers made from monolayers.Biophys. J. 28:259–280
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kleinberg, M.E., Finkelstein, A. Single-length and double-length channels formed by nystatin in lipid bilayer membranes. J. Membrain Biol. 80, 257–269 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01868444
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01868444