PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Bloom

Publications and source records attributed to M Bloom.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Models of stratum corneum intercellular membranes: the sphingolipid headgroup is a determinant of phase behavior in mixed lipid dispersions.

During formation of the intercellular membranes of mammalian stratum corneum, sphingomyelin and glucosylceramide are converted enzymatically to ceramide. To model in isolation the possible effect of such a lipid modification on the phase behavior of the ensemble, we used proton and deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance to compare an equimolar dispersion of bovine brain sphingomyelin, cholesterol, and perdeuterated palmitic acid (at pH 6.2), with an equivalent dispersion in which bovine brain ceramide was substituted for sphingomyelin. While the sphingomyelin dispersions remain in a homogeneous fluid lamellar phase from 20-75 degrees C under these conditions, those containing ceramide display complex polymorphism.

Ceramides↗
PubMed1992

Influence of lipid composition on the orientational order in Acholeplasma laidlawii strain B membranes: a deuterium NMR study.

2H NMR techniques have recently been developed to determine the complete orientational order profile of lipid bilayers employing lipids containing perdeuteriated palmitic acid [Lafleur, M., Fine, B., Sternin, E., Cullis, P.R., & Bloom, M. (1989) Biophys. J. 56, 1037-1041]. In this work, these techniques have been applied to study order profiles in intact membranes derived from Acholeplasma laidlawii strain B. It is shown that complete orientational order profiles can be readily obtained from the intact membranes of A. laidlawii B grown on equimolar amounts of perdeuteriated palmitic acid and a nondeuteriated fatty acid of varying length and unsaturation. By variation of the fatty acid composition employing mixtures of perdeuteriated palmitic acid with myristic, elaidic, oleic, or linoleic acid, a range of hydrocarbon order compatible with high rates and extents of cell growth has been obtained where the average order parameter, mean value of S, varies over the range 0.140-0.176. This same variation in order is seen for liposomes derived from total lipids extracted from these intact membranes. 2H NMR studies on liposomes composed of individual species of the extracted lipids indicate that modulation of the membrane lipid headgroup composition has the potential to play an important role in maintaining the membrane order within this range.

Acholeplasma laidlawii↗
PubMed1992

Combined influence of cholesterol and synthetic amphiphillic peptides upon bilayer thickness in model membranes.

Deuterium (2H) NMR was used to study bilayer hydrophobic thickness and mechanical properties when cholesterol and/or synthetic amphiphillic polypeptides were added to deuterated POPC lipid bilayer membranes in the liquid-crystalline (fluid) phase. Smoothed acyl chain orientational order profiles were used to calculate bilayer hydrophobic thickness. Addition of 30 mol% cholesterol to POPC at 25 degrees C increased the bilayer thickness from 2.58 to 2.99 nm. The peptides were chosen to span the bilayers with more or less mismatch between the hydrophobic peptide length and membrane hydrophobic thickness. The average thickness of the pure lipid bilayers was significantly perturbed upon addition of peptide only in cases of large mismatch, being increased (decreased) when the peptide hydrophobic length was greater (less) than that of the pure bilayer, consistent with the "mattress" model of protein lipid interactions (Mouritsen, O.G., and M. Bloom. 1984. Biophys. J. 46:141-153). The experimental results were also used to examine the combined influence of the polypeptides and cholesterol on the orientational order profile and thickness expansivity of the membranes. A detailed model for the spatial distribution of POPC and cholesterol molecules in the bilayers was proposed to reconcile the general features of these measurements with micromechanical measurements of area expansivity in closely related systems. Experiments to test the model were proposed.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗
PubMed1992

Temperature-reversible eruptions of vesicles in model membranes studied by NMR.

Deuterium (2H) and phosphorus (31P) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and freeze-fracture electron microscopy were used to study spontaneous vesiculation in model membranes composed of POPC:POPS with or without cholesterol. The NMR spectra indicated the presence of a central isotropic line, the intensity of which is reversibly and linearly dependent upon temperature in the L alpha phase, with no hysteresis when cycling between higher and lower temperatures. Freeze-fracture microscopy showed small, apparently connected vesicles that were only present when the samples were frozen (for freeze-fracture) from an initial temperature of 40-60 degrees C, and absent when the samples are frozen from an initial temperature of 20 degrees C. Analysis of motional narrowing was consistent with the isotropic lines being due to lateral diffusion in (and tumbling of) small vesicles (diameters approximately 50 nm). These results were interpreted in terms of current theories of shape fluctuations in large unilamellar vesicles which predict that small daughter vesicles may spontaneously "erupt" from larger parent vesicles in order to expel the excess area created by thermal expansion of the bilayer surface at constant volume. Assuming that all the increased area due to increasing temperature is associated with the isotropic lines, the NMR results allowed a novel estimate of the coefficient of area expansion alpha A in multilamellar vesicles (MLVs) which is in good agreement with micromechanical measurements upon giant unilamellar vesicles of similar composition. Experiments performed on unilamellar vesicles, which had been placed upon glass beads, confirmed that alpha A determined in this way is unchanged compared with the MLV case. Addition of the highly positively charged (extrinsic) myelin basic protein (MBP) to a POPC:POPS system showed that membrane eruptions of the type described here occur in response to the presence of this protein.

Biophysical Phenomena↗
PubMed1992

Probe orientation in contact Nd:YAG laser cyclophotocoagulation.

We investigated the effect of the angle orientation of the probe during Nd:YAG transscleral cyclophotocoagulation. We found, based on histologic evaluation of the ciliary processes and surrounding structures, that the angle at which the probe was placed on the eye was critical. A probe angulation as little as 15 degrees off the perpendicular destroyed sites less than optimal for achieving the goal of decreasing aqueous humor production.

Aqueous Humor↗
PubMed1991

Calcium binding by phosphatidylserine headgroups. Deuterium NMR study.

The binding of calcium to headgroup deuterated 1-palmitoyl, 2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoserine (POPS) was investigated by using deuterium magnetic resonance in pure POPS membranes and in mixed 1-palmitoyl, 2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC)/POPS 5:1 (m:m) bilayers. Addition of CaCl2 to pure POPS bilayers led to two component spectra attributed, respectively, to liquid-crystallin POPS (less than 15 kHz) and POPS molecules in the calcium-induced dehydrated phase (cochleate) (approximately 120 kHz). The liquid-crystalline component has nearly disappeared at a Ca2+ to POPS ratio of 0.5, indicating that, under such conditions, most of the POPS molecules are in the precipitated cochleate phase. After dilution of the POPS molecules in zwitterionic POPC membranes (POPC/POPS 5:1 m:m), single component spectra characteristic of POPS in the liquid-crystalline state were observed in the presence of Molar concentrations of calcium ions (Ca2+ to POPS ratio greater than 50), showing that the amount of dehydrated cochleate PS-Ca2+ phase, if any, was low (less than 5%) under such conditions. Deuterium NMR data obtained in the 15-50 degrees C temperature range with the mixed PC/PS membranes, either in the absence or the presence of Ca2+ ions, indicate that the serine headgroup undergoes a temperature-induced conformational change, independent of the presence of Ca2+. This is discussed in relation to other headgroup perturbations such as that observed upon change of the membrane surface charge density.

Calcium↗
PubMed1991

The six languages of social work.

This article describes the six languages that scientifically minded and practice-competent social workers need to be fluent in: the lay language of the client, the abstract language of the theorist, the empirical and often quantitative language of the researcher, the categorical language of the information scientist, the technical terminology or jargon used by helping professionals, and the preferential language that conveys values. It is the thesis of this article that social workers need multilingual and translingual proficiency in moving rapidly back and forth among these languages for maximum effectiveness and humane service.

Humans↗
PubMed1990

Comparison of the orientational order of lipid chains in the L alpha and HII phases.

The orientational order profile has been determined by using deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance (2H NMR) for POPE in the lamellar liquid-crystalline (L alpha) and the hexagonal (HII) phases and is shown to be sensitive to the symmetry of the lipid phase. In the HII phase, as compared to the L alpha phase, the acyl chains are characterized by a greater motional freedom, and the orientational order is distributed more uniformly along the lipid acyl chain. This is consistent with a change from a cylindrical to a wedge-shaped space available for the lipid chain. 2H NMR studies of POPE dispersions containing tetradecanol or decane, both of which can induce HII phase structure, show very different behavior. Tetradecanol appears to align with the phospholipid chains and experience the L alpha to HII phase transition with a similar change in motional averaging as observed for the phospholipid chains themselves. In contrast, decane is apparently deeply embedded in the lipid structure and exhibits only a small degree of orientation. The L alpha to HII phase transition for systems containing decane leads to a dramatic increase of the motional freedom of decane which is more pronounced than that observed for the lipid chains. This is consistent with a preferential partition of the decane molecules into a disordered environment such as the intercylinder spaces in the HII phase. The presence of decane in the HII phase structure does not modify the order of the lipid chains.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Alkanes↗
PubMed1990

Ca2+, Mg2+, Li+, Na+, and K+ distributions in the headgroup region of binary membranes of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine as seen by deuterium NMR.

The binding of calcium, magnesium, lithium, potassium, and sodium to membrane bilayers of 5 to 1 (M/M) 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine (POPC) and 1-palmitoyl- 2-oleoylphosphatidylserine (POPS) was investigated by using deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance (2H NMR). Both lipids were deuteriated on their polar headgroups, and spectra were obtained at 25 degrees C in the liquid-crystalline phase as a function of salt concentration. The spectra obtained with calcium were correlated with 45CaCl2 binding studies to determine the effective membrane-bound calcium at low calcium binding, up to 0.78 calcium per POPS. Deuterium quadrupolar splittings of both POPC and POPS headgroups were shown to be very sensitive to calcium binding. The behavior of these two headgroups over a wide range of CaCl2 concentrations suggests that Ca2+ binding occurs in at least two steps, the first step being achieved with 0.5 M CaCl2, with a stoichiometry of 0.5 Ca2+ per POPS. Correlations of the deuterium Ca2+ binding data with related data obtained after incorporation of a cationic integral peptide showed that the effects of these two cationic molecules of the POPS headgroup are qualitatively similar, and provided further support for two-step Ca2+ binding to the POPC/POPS 5:1 membranes. The corresponding data obtained with magnesium, lithium, and potassium indicate that these cations interact with both the choline and serine headgroups. The amplitudes of headgroup perturbations could be partly correlated to the relative affinities of the metallic cations for the lipid membrane. The two-step binding described with Ca2+ appears to be relevant to the Mg2+ data, and in certain limits to the Li+ data. The data were interpreted in terms of conformational changes of the lipid headgroups induced by an electric field due to the charges of the membrane-bound metallic cations. A conformational change of the serine headgroup induced by the membrane-bound charges is proposed. We propose that the metallic cations can be differentiated on the basis of their respective spatial distribution functions relative to the choline and serine headgroups. According to this interpretation, the divalent cations Ca2+ and Mg2+ are more deeply buried in the membrane than monovalent Na+ and K+, the case of Li+ being intermediate of the latter two. This conclusion is discussed in relation to fundamental theories of the spatial distribution of ions near the interface between water and smooth charged solid surfaces.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1990

Modulation of the orientational order profile of the lipid acyl chain in the L alpha phase.

The orientational order profile along the lipid acyl chain has been characterized under several different conditions of polar headgroup composition, temperature, and cholesterol content. Despite the different nature of these factors, the variation of the order is governed by two common trends. First, the relative change of order induced by the variation of these factors is always more pronounced towards the end of the chain than for the methylene groups near the interface. Second, there is, to a first approximation, a distinct correlation between the magnitude of the order parameters and the shape of the order profile. For example when the chain is highly ordered, the relative width of the order distribution is narrow indicating that the plateau region is longer. These conclusions suggest that the orientational order profile depends on only a small number of parameters and demonstrate clearly that the correlation length for changes in orientational order is much greater than one C-C bond length. Our results also show that the reduced temperature is not related in simple terms to orientational order and probably has little theoretical significance. The orientational order profiles of POPC and POPE bilayers are significantly different even when expressed in terms of reduced temperature. The behavior of POPC/cholesterol systems also indicates that the orientational order of the lipid chain and the gel-to-liquid crystalline phase transition temperature are not related in a straightforward manner.

Cell Membrane↗
PubMed1990

Physical properties of single phospholipid bilayers adsorbed to micro glass beads. A new vesicular model system studied by 2H-nuclear magnetic resonance.

Spherical supported vesicles (SSVs), a new model system consisting of single dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) bilayers adsorbed to spherical glass beads with a narrow size distribution, were prepared at two different sizes (0.5 and 1.5 microns) and their physical properties were studied by deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance (2H-NMR). Such SSV samples can be prepared at any desired size between 0.3 and 10 microns. The 2H-NMR measurements provide evidence for a strong dependence of the spectra and the transverse relaxation times on the curvature of the SSVs in a diameter range between 0.5 and 1.5 microns. For larger SSVs (1.5 microns diameter) their powder spectra and their calculated oriented spectra are similar to those obtained for multilamellar dispersions of DMPC-d54. The lineshape of the smaller SSVs exhibits a temperature dependence which is not found in multilamellar samples. The SSVs are stable in the liquid crystalline phase over days but irreversibly change to multilamellar vesicles in the gel state. The average thickness of the water layer between the single bilayer and the glass bead surface was estimated by 1H-NMR to e 17 +/- 5 A.

Adsorption↗
PubMed1990

Relationships between lipid membrane area, hydrophobic thickness, and acyl-chain orientational order. The effects of cholesterol.

A microscopic interaction model for a fully hydrated lipid bilayer membrane containing cholesterol is used to calculate, as a function of temperature and composition, the membrane area, the membrane hydrophobic thickness, and the average acyl-chain orientational order parameter, S. The order parameter, S, is related to the first moment, M1, of the quadrupolar magnetic resonance spectrum which can be measured for lipids with perdeuterated chains. On the basis of these model calculations as well as recent experimental measurements of M1 using magnetic resonance and of membrane area using micromechanical measurements, a discussion of the possible relationships between membrane area, hydrophobic thickness, and moments of nuclear magnetic resonance spectra is presented. It is pointed out that S under certain circumstances may be useful for estimating the hydrophobic membrane thickness. This is particularly advantageous for multicomponent membranes where structural data are difficult to obtain by using diffraction techniques. The usefulness of the suggested relationships is demonstrated for cholesterol-containing bilayers.

Cholesterol↗
PubMed1990

Lipid polymorphism and hydrocarbon order.

The use of 2H nuclear magnetic resonance for the characterization of the polymorphic behavior of lipids is illustrated. Different lipid phase preferences may be expected to influence the orientational order and its variation along the acyl chains. Several results are presented to support that view. An increase of motional freedom and a redistribution of the order along the acyl chains are observed during the lamellar-to-hexagonal phase transition, showing that the order profile is sensitive to the lipid phase symmetry. In addition, if the preferences for nonlamellar phases are not expressed explicitly, the presence of "nonbilayer" lipids constrained in bilayer environment induces increased hydrocarbon order. This suggests that order parameters of the acyl chains and lipid polymorphic tendencies are intimately related.

Chemical Phenomena↗
PubMed1989

Conformational changes of phospholipid headgroups induced by a cationic integral membrane peptide as seen by deuterium magnetic resonance.

Deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance (2H NMR) was used to study the interaction of a cationic amphiphilic peptide with pure DMPC membranes and with mixed bilayers of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and dimyristoylphosphatidylserine (DMPS). The choline and serine headgroups were selectively deuteriated at the alpha and beta positions. The amphiphilic peptide, with 20 leucine residues in the hydrophobic core and two cationic hydrophilic lysine residues at each end, spanned the lipid bilayer. Although 2H NMR experiments using DMPC with perdeuteriated fatty acyl chains showed that the average order parameter of the hydrophobic region was not significantly modified by the incorporation of the amphiphilic peptide, for either DMPC or DMPC/DMPS (5:1) bilayers, large perturbations of the quadrupolar splittings of the choline and serine headgroups were observed. The results obtained with the DMPC headgroup suggest that the incorporation of the cationic peptide in both DMPC and DMPC/DMPS (5:1) bilayers leads to a structural perturbation directly related to the net charge on the membrane surface. The magnitude of the observed effect seems to be similar to those observed previously with other cationic molecules [Seelig, J., MacDonald, P.M., & Scherer, P.G. (1987) Biochemistry 26, 7535-7541]. Two of the three quadrupolar splittings of the PS headgroup exhibited large variations in the presence of the amphiphilic peptide, while the third one remained unchanged. Our data have led us to propose a model describing the influence of membrane surface charges on headgroup conformation. In this model, the surface charge is represented as a uniform charge distribution. The electric field due to the charges produces a torque which rotates the polar headgroups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1989

Transsternal radical thymectomy for myasthenia gravis: a 15-year review.

Thymectomy is an accepted therapeutic modality for patients with myasthenia gravis. The selection of patients for operation and the surgical approach are controversial. We reviewed 52 patients (aged 18 months to 82 years; mean age, 34 years) treated with transsternal radical thymectomy between 1972 and 1987. Patients were symptomatically staged according to the modified Osserman classification. There was one hospital death and postoperative follow-up was obtained on 51 patients. Improvement after thymectomy was observed in 3 of 11 patients (27%) in Osserman stage I, 16 of 25 patients (64%) in Osserman stage IIA, and 13 of 15 patients (86%) in combined Osserman stages IIB, III, and IV. Preoperative Osserman stage, patient sex, and thymic histology correlated with postoperative clinical response. Transsternal radical thymectomy is effective therapy for myasthenia gravis. Sustained improvement is obtained in patients with moderate and advanced disease. The majority of patients with ocular disease do not benefit from operation.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Smoothed orientational order profile of lipid bilayers by 2H-nuclear magnetic resonance.

A new method has been developed to determine the complete orientational order profile of lipid bilayers using 2H-NMR. The profile is obtained from a single powder spectrum of a lipid which has a saturated chain fully deuteriated. The smoothed order profile is determined directly from the normalized dePaked spectrum assuming a monotonic decrease of the order along the acyl chain. The oscillatory variations of the order at the beginning of the chain are not described by this method. However the smoothed order profile reveals in a straightforward way the crucial features of the anisotropic order of the bilayer.

Deuterium↗