Effects of hydrostatic pressure on lipid bilayer membranes. II. Activation and reaction volumes of carrier mediated ion transport

Abstract

Measurements of voltage relaxations following brief charge-pulses applied to lipid bilayers have been performed at different hydrostatic pressures in the presence of the neutral carriers cyclo (D-Val-L-Pro-L-Val-D-Pro)3(PV) and valinomycin. From double-exponential relaxations observed in membranes containing PV-K+ complexes estimates were obtained of the amount of membrane absorbed complexes, NMS, and of the rate of complex translocation, kMS. The pressure dependence of kMS corresponded to an activation volume for translocation of approximately 12 cm3/mol independent of ionic strength and K+ concentration. The pressure dependence of NMS strongly varied with K+-concentration suggesting a major role of ion-complexation in solution which is estimated to involve a reaction volume of 25.5 cm3/mol, while the volume of absorption of a PV-K+ complex by the membrane was estimated -7.5 cm3/mol. The relaxations observed in the presence of valinomycin contained three exponentials and could be used to estimate four rate constants and one absorption parameter which characterize the valinomycin-mediated transport. When the transport of Rb+ was tested, the rate constant for the complex dissociation, kD, and the total concentration of free and complexed carriers in the membrane, No, were found to be pressure insensitive. The translocation rates for the complex, kMS and for the free carrier, kS, were instead markedly pressure dependent according to estimated activation volumes in the range of 11 to 18 cm3/mol. The recombination rate constant kR was also pressure dependent according to an activation volume of 12-14 cm3/mol. The study of the valinomycin-K+ transport yielded similar results as far as N.,ks, and kms are concerned, but in this case kR was pressure independent, while kD was increased by pressure. The net volume change associated with the transfer of a free ion to the membrane in the form of a valinomycin-ion complex was nevertheless very similar for K+ and Rb+. It is concluded that pressure affects the transmembrane mobility of liposoluble molecules, whether charged or not, mostly by increasing the effective viscosity of the hydrocarbon core of the bilayer. The pressure dependence of the membrane uptake of amphipathic compounds seems also to obey the general rule: that of involving a negative volume change. However, when the compounds arise from a complexation reaction in solution or at the membrane solution interface possible positive volumes of complexation may make effective uptake to be reversed rather than increased by pressure.