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Herein we describe a rapid, simple, and reliable method for the quantitative analysis and molecular species fingerprinting of triacylglycerides (TAG) directly from chloroform extracts of biological samples. Previous attempts at direct TAG quantitation by positive-ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI/MS) were confounded by the presence of overlapping peaks from choline glycerophospholipids requiring chromatographic separation of lipid extracts prior to ESI/MS analyses. By exploiting the rapid loss of phosphocholine from choline glycerophospholipids, in conjunction with neutral-loss scanning for individual fatty acids, overlapping peaks in the ESI mass spectrum were deconvoluted generating a detailed molecular species fingerprint of individual TAG molecular species directly from chloroform extracts of biological samples. This method readily detects as little as 0.1 pmol of each TAG molecular species from chloroform extracts and is linear over a 1000-fold dynamic range. The sensitivity of individual TAG molecular species to ESI/MS/MS analyses correlated with the unsaturation index and inversely correlated with total aliphatic chain length of TAG. An algorithm was developed which identifies sensitivity factors, thereby allowing the rapid quantitation and molecular species fingerprinting of TAG molecular species directly from chloroform extracts of biological samples., (Copyright 2001 Academic Press.)

Intrinsic cardiac dysfunction during the diabetic state has been causally linked to changes in myocardial lipid metabolism. However, the precise alterations in the molecular species of myocardial polar and non-polar lipids during the diabetic state and their responses to insulin have not been investigated. Herein we demonstrate four specific alterations in rat myocardial lipid molecular species after induction of the diabetic state by streptozotocin treatment: (i) a massive remodelling of triacylglycerol molecular species including a >5-fold increase in tripalmitin mass and a 60% decrease in polyunsaturated triacylglycerol molecular species mass (i.e. triacylglycerols containing at least one acyl residue with more than two double bonds); (ii) a 46% increase in myocardial phosphatidylinositol mass; (iii) a 44% increase in myocardial plasmenylethanolamine mass and (iv) a 22% decrease in 1-stearoyl-2-arachidonoyl phosphatidylethanolamine content. Each of the changes in phospholipid classes, subclasses and individual molecular species were prevented by insulin treatment after induction of the diabetic state. In sharp contrast, the alterations in triacylglycerol molecular species were not preventable by peripheral insulin treatment after induction of the diabetic state. These results segregate diabetes-induced alterations in myocardial lipid metabolism into changes that can be remedied or not by routine peripheral insulin treatment and suggest that peripheral insulin therapy alone may not be sufficient to correct all of the metabolic alterations present in diabetic myocardium.

During the sequencing of the long arm of chromosome 7 in the Human Genome Project, a predicted protein product of 40 kDa was identified, which contained two approximately 10-amino acid segments homologous to the ATP and lipase consensus sequences present in the founding members of a family of calcium-independent phospholipases A(2). Detailed inspection of the identified sequence (residues 79, 671-109,912 GenBank accession no. AC005058) demonstrated that it represented only a partial sequence of a larger undefined polypeptide product. Accordingly, we identified the complete genomic organization of this putative phospholipase A(2) through analyses of previously published expressed sequence tags, PCR of human heart cDNA, and 5'-rapid amplification of cDNA ends. Polymerase chain reaction and Northern blotting demonstrated a 3.4-kilobase message, which encoded a polypeptide with a maximum calculated molecular weight of 88476.9. This 3.4-kilobase message was present in multiple human parenchymal tissues including heart, skeletal muscle, placenta, brain, liver, and pancreas. Cloning and expression of the protein encoded by this message in Sf9 cells resulted in the production of two proteins of apparent molecular masses of 77 and 63 kDa as assessed by Western analyses utilizing immunoaffinity-purified antibody. Membranes from Sf9 cells expressing recombinant protein released fatty acid from sn-2-radiolabeled phosphatidylcholine and plasmenylcholine up to 10-fold more rapidly than controls. The initial rate of fatty acid release from the membrane fraction was 0. 3 nmol/mg.min. The recombinant protein was entirely calcium-independent, had a pH optimum of 8.0, was inhibited by (E)-6-(bromomethylene)-3-(1-naphthalenyl)-2H-tetrahydropyran-2-one (IC(50) = 3 microM), and was predominantly present in the membrane-associated fraction. Collectively, these results describe the genomic organization, complete mRNA sequence, and sn-2-lipase activity of a novel intracellular calcium-independent membrane-associated phospholipase A(2).

Herein we demonstrate the calcium-dependent regulation of myocardial phospholipase A2 activity, which is mediated by a cytosolic protein constituent that can be chromatographically resolved from, and subsequently reconstituted with, purified myocardial phospholipase A2. Purification of this protein by sequential column chromatographies revealed an 18-kDa doublet, which was identified as calmodulin by Western blotting, calcium-dependent precipitation with W-7 agarose beads, and reconstitution of calcium-mediated phospholipase A2 inhibition with authentic homogeneous calmodulin. Calcium-induced calmodulin-mediated inhibition of myocardial phospholipase A2 was titrated by physiologic increments of calcium ion (Kd approximately 200 nM). Moreover, ternary complex affinity chromatography with calmodulin-Sepharose demonstrated that inhibition of myocardial phospholipase A2 activity by calmodulin resulted from the direct interaction of calmodulin with the myocardial phospholipase A2 catalytic complex. Exposure of cultured A-10 muscle cells to three structurally disparate calmodulin antagonists (W-7, trifluoperazine, and calmidazolium) resulted in the robust release of arachidonic acid, which was entirely ablated by pretreatment of cells with (E)-6-(bromomethylene)-3-(1-naphthalenyl)-2-H-tetrahydropyran-2-one. Collectively, this study identifies a novel mechanism whereby latent phospholipase A2 activity can be released from tonic inhibition by alterations in the interactions between the phospholipase A2 catalytic complex, calcium ion, and the intracellular calcium transducer, calmodulin.

Long-chain acylcarnitines accumulate during myocardial ischemia and contribute to membrane dysfunction in ischemic zones. On the basis of the 3-fold selectivity for saturated fatty acid accumulation during myocardial ischemia, it was implicitly assumed that saturated long chain acylcarnitine molecular species predominantly accumulated in ischemic myocardium. By exploiting the analytical power of electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy, we now report that unsaturated acylcarnitines are the predominant molecular species of acylcarnitine which accumulate during myocardial ischemia (rank order: octadecadienoyl carnitine > octadecanoyl carnitine > hexadecanoyl carnitine > octadecanoyl carnitine). The aliphatic chain distribution of myocardial acylcarnitine molecular species identified by electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy was independently substantiated by sequential HPLC purification and capillary gas chromatography. Detailed analysis of the individual molecular species of long-chain acylcarnitine demonstrated that fatty acyl chain elongation was prominent in ischemic myocardium (e.g., following 20 min of ischemia, greater than 15% of the accumulated acylcarnitines consisted of 20-carbon unsaturated molecular species). Chain-elongated lipids were essentially confined to the long chain acylcarnitine pool since [9,10-3H]octadec-9'-enoic acid was converted to [3H]eicosenoyl carnitine (12% of the radiolabeled acylcarnitine pool) in ischemic hearts without substantive amounts of [3H]eicosenoyl residues in the fatty acid, triglyceride, and phospholipid pools. Collectively, these results demonstrate the preponderance of unsaturated acylcarnitines in ischemic myocardium and document the metabolic compartmentation of downstream products of fatty acyl chain elongation in the acylcarnitine pool during ischemia.

Myocardial calcium-independent phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity is mediated by a 400 kDa catalytic complex comprised of a tetramer of phosphofructokinase (PFK) and a 40 kDa catalytic subunit [1,2]. During myocardial ischemia, calcium-independent PLA2 activity rapidly and reversibly translocates from the cytosol to a membrane-associated compartment where it has been implicated as a mediator of ischemic damage [3,4]. Herein we demonstrate that the majority of both PFK mass and activity is translocated from the cytosol to a membrane-associated compartment prior to the onset of irreversible myocytic injury and that translocated PFK is catalytically inactive while membrane-associated. Furthermore, reperfusion of ischemic myocardium, or treatment of membranes derived from ischemic myocardium with ATP results in the conversion of both PFK mass and activity from its membrane-associated state to a soluble, catalytically-competent form. Collectively, these studies demonstrate that the concomitant changes in glycolysis and phospholipid hydrolysis during early myocardial ischemia result, at least in part, from the translocation of a common regulatory polypeptide critical in both processes.

Although recent studies have demonstrated the existence of the requisite enzymic machinery necessary for the shuttling of vinyl ether linkages through polar head group remodeling, the relative rates of plasmalogen de novo synthesis and polar head group remodeling are unknown. Pulse-chase radiolabeling of perfused rabbit hearts with [1-3H]hexadecanol demonstrated the rapid and progressive incorporation of radiolabel into plasmenylethanolamine (e.g., after 0.5 h of radiolabeling, 10% of [1-3H]hexadecanol incorporated into ethanolamine glycerophospholipid was in plasmenylethanolamine, and after 1.5 h, 21% was in plasmenylethanolamine) with no detectable radiolabeling of plasmenylcholine until 3 h after the pulse. Furthermore, perfusion of hearts with [1',2'-alkyl-3H2]1-O-alkyl-GPC resulted in the rapid incorporation of radiolabel into plasmanylcholine, but not plasmenylcholine, even after extended perfusion intervals. In contrast, both radiolabeled choline and ethanolamine were rapidly incorporated into plasmalogens through polar head group remodeling at rates that were over 300-fold greater than that of plasmalogen de novo synthesis (e.g., an incorporation rate of 31 nmol/gdry.h for ethanolamine but only 93 pmol/gdry.h for hexadecanol into plasmenylethanolamine was manifest). Similarly, sn-2 remodeling of plasmalogen molecular species with arachidonic or oleic acid also occurred at rates that were over 100-fold greater than that of de novo plasmalogen biosynthesis. Collectively, these results underscore the fundamental importance of rapid polar head group remodeling of plasmalogen molecular species in the synthesis and maintenance of plasmenylcholine and plasmenylethanolamine pools in intact contracting myocardium.

Recent studies have demonstrated the existence of a novel family of calcium-independent plasmalogen-selective phospholipases A2 in canine myocardium that have been implicated as enzymic mediators of ischemic membrane damage. We now report that human myocardium contains two functionally distinct isoforms of cytosolic calcium-independent phospholipase A2. The major cytosolic phospholipase A2 isoform preferentially hydrolyzes plasmalogen substrate, possesses a pH optimum of 7.0, and is chromatographically resolvable from a minor cytosolic calcium-independent phospholipase A2 isoform that hydrolyzes plasmenylcholine and phosphatidylcholine substrates at similar rates and possesses a pH optimum of 8.5. The major cytosolic calcium-independent phospholipase A2 isoform was identified as a 40-kD polypeptide after its 182,000-fold purification by sequential column chromatographies to a final specific activity of 67 mumol/mg.min. The purified 40-kD human myocardial phospholipase A2 preferentially hydrolyzes plasmalogens containing arachidonic acid at the sn-2 position. Both reverse-phase HPLC and fast atom bombardment mass spectroscopic analysis of human myocardial ethanolamine and choline glycerophospholipids demonstrated that plasmenylethanolamine and plasmenylcholine molecular species containing arachidonic acid at the sn-2 position are prominent constituents of human myocardium. Collectively, these results identify and characterize the major human myocardial cytosolic calcium-independent phospholipase A2 activity, demonstrate the presence of functionally distinct human myocardial cytosolic calcium-independent phospholipase A2 isoforms, and document the abundance of arachidonoylated plasmalogen molecular species in human myocardium that serve as substrates.

We have demonstrated previously that myocardial cytosolic calcium-independent phospholipase A2 is a 40-kDa polypeptide regulated by ligand-modulated protein-protein interactions (Hazen, S.L., and Gross, R.W. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 14526-14534). We now demonstrate that an 85-kDa polypeptide which possesses sequence homology to and chemical, physical, immunological, and chromatographic similarities with phosphofructokinase (PFK) specifically interacts with the 40-kDa phospholipase A2 catalytic subunit and represents the putative protein regulatory element identified in previous work. Multiple independent lines of evidence document the association between the 85-kDa phosphofructokinase isoform and the 40-kDa myocardial cytosolic calcium-independent phospholipase A2 catalytic polypeptide, including 1) the coelution of the 85- and 40-kDa polypeptides which migrate as a 400-kDa complex during gel filtration chromatography, 2) the stoichiometry between the 85- and 40-kDa polypeptides which corresponds to a complex comprised of a tetrameric PFK isoform and a 40-kDa phospholipase A2 catalytic polypeptide, 3) the demonstration that the 85-kDa phosphofructokinase isoform acts as a specific and reversible affinity adsorbent for myocardial cytosolic phospholipase A2 catalytic activity, 4) the immunoprecipitation of myocardial cytosolic phospholipase A2 activity utilizing chicken anti-rabbit skeletal muscle PFK IgG, 5) the specific release of phospholipase A2 from ATP-agarose after formation of a ternary complex comprised of allosteric modifiers of phosphofructokinase, and 6) the selective attenuation of the denaturation of purified homogeneous calcium-independent cytosolic phospholipase A2 with PFK. Collectively, these results demonstrate the highly specific association of a phosphofructokinase isoform with myocardial cytosolic calcium-independent phospholipase A2 and suggest a novel biochemical mechanism underlying the coordinated regulation of phospholipolysis and glycolysis previously observed in myocardium and in other mammalian tissues.

Plasmenylethanolamines represent the major endogenous phospholipid storage depot of arachidonic acid in many mammalian cells. To elucidate the biochemical mechanisms contributing to the high plasmalogen content and arachidonic acid enrichment present in myocardial ethanolamine glycerophospholipids, the substrate specificity of rabbit myocardial ethanolamine phosphotransferase (EPT) was quantified utilizing multiple molecular species of each subclass of diradyl glycerol substrate. Myocardial EPT demonstrated over a 16-fold selectivity for 1-O-alk-1'-enyl-2-acyl-sn-glycerol (AAG) compared to 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerol (DAG) substrate utilizing individual molecular species of each subclass dispersed in Tween 20. The selective utilization of AAG by EPT was substantiated utilizing two independent assay systems which employed either the presentation of substrate to enzyme as a substitutional impurity in Triton X-100 mixed micelles or the obligatory utilization of endogenously generated diradyl glycerol substrates. Although rabbit myocardial microsomes contained over a 20-fold molar excess of endogenous DAG to AAG mass, incubation of rabbit myocardial microsomes with CDP-ethanolamine resulted in the highly selective synthesis of plasmenylethanolamines which were predominantly comprised of molecular species containing arachidonic acid at the sn-2 position (greater than 75%). Endogenous AAG molecular species in rabbit myocardial microsomes were similarly enriched in arachidonic acid, and the distribution of AAG molecular species closely paralleled the distribution of plasmenylethanolamine (but not plasmenylcholine) molecular species. Thus, the subclass and molecular species distribution of the ethanolamine glycerophospholipids synthesized by rabbit myocardial EPT reflects independent contributions from the subclass selectivity of EPT for AAG substrate in conjunction with the enrichment of arachidonic acid in microsomal AAG molecular species.

The molecular dynamics of highly purified preparations of canine myocardial sarcolemma (SL) and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) were quantified by electron spin resonance spectroscopy (ESR). Canine myocardial SL and SR have substantially different motional regimes in their membrane interiors as demonstrated by alterations in the relative peak height ratios, peak widths and peak splittings in ESR spectra of 16-doxylstearate incorporated into SL and SR. Quantification of the apparent order parameters (S) of 16-doxylstearate in SL and SR by analyses of ESR spectra demonstrated that the interior of the SL membrane was substantially more immobilized than the interior of the SR membrane (e.g. S = 0.168 +/- 0.002 for SL and S = 0.128 +/- 0.003 for SR). In contrast, only modest differences in membrane dynamics near the hydrophobic-hydrophilic interface were present in SL and SR as ascertained by ESR spectra of the probe 5-doxylstearate incorporated into these membranes. Myocardial sarcolemma contained heretofore unsuspected amounts of cholesterol (1.4 +/- 0.1 mumol cholesterol/mg protein) while sarcoplasmic reticulum contained only small amounts of cholesterol (0.17 +/- 0.06 mumol cholesterol/mg protein). Model systems employing binary mixtures of plasmenylcholine/cholesterol and phosphatidylcholine/cholesterol demonstrated that the observed alterations in molecular dynamics were due, in large part, to the differential cholesterol content in these two subcellular membrane compartments. Taken together, these results demonstrate that these two functionally distinct myocardial subcellular membranes have markedly disparate molecular dynamics and transmembrane fluidity gradients which may facilitate their performance of specific functional roles during excitation-contraction coupling in myocardium.

Although numerous studies have implicated accelerated phospholipid catabolism during myocardial ischemia as an important contributor to ischemic membrane dysfunction, no information is currently available on the subcellular distribution, physical properties, or kinetic characteristics of human myocardial phospholipase A2. In this report, we demonstrate that the overwhelming majority (98%) of total phospholipase A2 activity in human myocardium (obtained from transplant recipients) is calcium independent, plasmalogen selective, and is distributed between the microsomal (60-70% of total activity) and cytosolic (30-40% of total activity) fractions. Both human myocardial microsomal and cytosolic phospholipase A2 enzymes 1) preferentially hydrolyze plasmalogen molecular species containing arachidonic acid at the sn-2 position, 2) are recalcitrant to chemical inactivation by the indole-reactive agent parabromophenacyl bromide, 3) are irreversibly inhibited by covalent modification of an essential thiol residue by 5,5'-dithio-bis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB), and 4) are exquisitely sensitive to mechanism-based inhibition by (E)-6-(bromomethylene)tetrahydro-3-(1-naphthalenyl)-2H-pyran-2-one (bromoenol lactone). In sharp contrast, human mitochondrial phospholipase A2 1) accounts for only a diminutive amount of total myocardial phospholipase A2 activity (1-2%), 2) is augmented by calcium ion, 3) exhibits a higher reaction velocity using phosphatidylcholine in comparison with plasmenylcholine substrate, and 4) is not substantially inhibited by either DTNB or bromoenol lactone. Collectively, these results demonstrate that the majority of phospholipase A2 activity in human myocardium is catalyzed by a novel class of calcium-independent plasmalogen-selective phospholipases A2 and underscore the potential importance of this class of enzymes in mediating membrane dysfunction during myocardial infarction in humans.

Although phospholipases A2 (PLsA2) have been implicated as enzymic mediators of electrophysiological dysfunction during myocardial ischaemia and reperfusion in man, no information on the regulation of human myocardial PLsA2 is available. We now report that human myocardial cytosolic Ca(2+)-independent PLA2 is modulated by ATP through mechanisms which are independent of protein phosphorylation, since: (1) ATP and its non-hydrolysable analogues reversibly augment the initial rate of crude (but not purified) human myocardial cytosolic PLA2 activity 3-4 fold; (2) ATP and its non-hydrolysable analogues dramatically attenuate the rate of thermal denaturation of human myocardial cytosolic PLA2 activity; (3) ATP and its non-hydrolysable analogues alter the sensitivity of human myocardial cytosolic PLA2 to mechanism-based inhibition by (E)-6-(bromomethylene)tetrahydro-3-(1-naphthalenyl)-2H-pyran-2-one; (4) adenine nucleotide triphosphates are more potent than guanine nucleotide triphosphates in activating and stabilizing human myocardial cytosolic PLA2; (5) adenosine 5'-[beta gamma-methylene]triphosphate is more potent than its guanosine counterpart in protecting an essential thiol residue(s) in human myocardial cytosolic PLA2 from covalent modification by 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid); and (6) ATP-dependent activation and stabilization of human myocardial cytosolic PLA2 are mediated by a cytosolic protein(s) which can be functionally reconstituted with purified human myocardial cytosolic PLA2 catalytic polypeptide. Collectively these results demonstrate that multiple physical and kinetic properties of human myocardial cytosolic Ca(2+)-independent PLA2 are dramatically influenced by dynamic interactions with ATP.

We report here that rabbit myocardial cytosolic calcium-independent phospholipase A2 exists as a high molecular weight complex comprised of catalytic and regulatory polypeptides whose activity and stability are influenced by specific interactions with ATP. Multiple lines of evidence document the functional significance of interactions between the catalytic complex and ATP including: 1) adenine nucleotide triphosphates attenuate the rate of thermal denaturation of native cytosolic phospholipase A2; 2) ATP augments the initial rate of phospholipid hydrolysis in a manner independent of the concentration, interfacial properties, and physical state of aggregated substrate; 3) adenine nucleotide triphosphates attenuate the reactivity of an essential thiol residue to covalent modification by 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid); and 4) the catalytic complex specifically and reversibly binds to ATP affinity matrices, although the purified 40-kDa catalytic subunit neither binds to ATP affinity matrices nor is subject to ATP-dependent activation and stabilization. The catalytic and regulatory elements were functionally resolved by differential thermal inactivation and the ATP-regulatable phospholipase A2 catalytic complex was reassembled by reconstitution of highly purified catalytic and partially purified regulatory proteins. Thus, alterations in ATP concentration influence the activity and longevity of the myocardial cytosolic calcium-independent phospholipase A2 catalytic complex, thereby potentially modulating the release of lipidic second messengers and facilitating adaptive alterations in membrane physical properties.

Recent studies have demonstrated the existence of two members of a novel family of calcium-independent plasmalogen-selective phospholipases A2 in mammalian myocardium (Wolf, R. A., and R. W. Gross. 1985. J. Biol. Chem. 260:7295-7303; and Hazen, S. L., D. A. Ford, and R. W. Gross. 1991. J. Biol. Chem. 266:5629-5633). To examine the potential role of these calcium-independent phospholipases A2 in mediating membrane dysfunction during early myocardial ischemia, the temporal course of alterations in phospholipase A2 activity during global ischemia in Langendorf perfused rabbit hearts was quantified and compared with traditionally accepted markers of myocytic ischemic injury and anaerobic metabolism. We now report that membrane-associated calcium-independent plasmalogen-selective phospholipase A2 activity increased over 400% during 2 min of global ischemia (P less than 0.01), was near maximally activated (greater than 10-fold) after only 5 min of ischemia, and remained activated throughout the entire ischemic interval examined (2-60 min). Activation of membrane-associated plasmalogen-selective phospholipase A2 after 5 min of myocardial ischemia was rapidly reversible during reperfusion of ischemic tissue. Both the activation of phospholipase A2 and its reversibility during reperfusion were temporally correlated to alterations in myocytic anaerobic metabolism. Furthermore, activation of membrane-associated phospholipase A2 was essentially complete before electron microscopic evidence of cellular damage. Collectively, these results identify dynamic alterations in calcium-independent plasmalogen-selective phospholipase A2 activity during myocardial ischemia which precede irreversible cellular injury and demonstrate that activation of plasmalogen-selective phospholipase A2 is amongst the earliest biochemical alterations in ischemic myocardium.

The majority of phospholipase A2 activity in myocardium is calcium-independent and selective for hydrolysis of plasmalogen substrate (Wolf, R. A., and Gross, R. W. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 7295-7303; Hazen, S. L., Stuppy, R. J., and Gross, R. W. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 10622-10630). Accordingly, identification of an inhibitor which selectively targets calcium-independent phospholipases A2 would facilitate elucidation of the biologic significance of this class of intracellular phospholipases. We now report that the haloenol lactone, (E)-6-(bromomethylene)tetrahydro-3-(1-naphthalenyl)-2H-pyran-2-one (Compound 1), is a potent, irreversible, mechanism-based inhibitor of myocardial calcium-independent phospholipase A2 which is greater than 1000-fold specific for inhibition of myocardial calcium-independent phospholipase A2 in comparisons with multiple calcium-dependent phospholipases A2. Mechanism-based inhibition of myocardial cytosolic calcium-independent phospholipase A2 by Compound 1 was established by demonstrating: 1) time-dependent irreversible inactivation; 2) covalent binding of [3H]Compound 1 to the purified phospholipase A2; 3) ablation of covalent binding of [3H]Compound 1 after chemical inactivation of phospholipase A2 enzymic activity; 4) identical inhibition of myocardial phospholipase A2 by Compound 1 in the absence or presence of nucleophilic scavengers; 5) Compound 1 is a substrate for myocardial calcium-independent phospholipase A2 resulting in the generation of the electrophilic alpha-bromomethyl ketone; 6) phospholipase A2 inhibition requires the in situ generation of the reactive electrophile (i.e. neither the alpha-bromomethyl ketone nor the diproteoenol lactone analog are inhibitory); and 7) concomitant attenuation of the inhibitory potency and the extent of covalent adduct formation in the presence of saturating substrate. Collectively, these results demonstrate that the haloenol lactone, Compound 1, is a substrate for, covalently binds to, and irreversibly inhibits canine myocardial cytosolic calcium-independent phospholipase A2.

Recently, we identified a novel calcium-independent, plasmalogen-selective phospholipase A2 activity in canine myocardial cytosol which represents the major measurable phospholipase A2 activity in myocardial homogenates (Wolf, R. A., and Gross, R. W. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 7295-7303). We now report the 154,000-fold purification of this phospholipase A2 to homogeneity through utilization of sequential anion exchange, chromatofocusing, affinity, Mono Q, and hydroxylapatite chromatographies. The purified enzyme had a molecular mass of 40 kDa, possessed a specific activity of 227 mumol/mg min, had a pH optimum of 6.4, and catalyzed the regiospecific cleavage of the sn-2 fatty acid from diradyl glycerophospholipids. The purified polypeptide was remarkable for its ability to selectively hydrolyze plasmenylcholine in homogeneous vesicles (subclass rank order: plasmenylcholine greater than alkyl-ether choline glycerophospholipid greater than phosphatidylcholine) as well as in mixed bilayers comprised of equimolar plasmenylcholine/phosphatidylcholine. Purified myocardial phospholipase A2 also possessed selectivity for hydrolysis of phospholipids containing arachidonic acid at the sn-2 position in comparison to oleic or palmitic acid. Taken together, these results constitute the first purification of a calcium-independent phospholipase with absolute regiospecificity for cleavage of the sn-2 acyl linkage in diradyl glycerophospholipids and demonstrate that myocardial phospholipase A2 has kinetic characteristics which are anticipated to result in the selective hydrolysis of sarcolemmal phospholipids during myocardial ischemia.

Recently, we have demonstrated that myocardial sarcolemma is predominantly comprised of plasmalogen molecular species and that the plasmalogen metabolite 1-O-alk-1'-enyl-2-acyl-sn-glycerol (AAG) accumulates during myocardial ischemia despite substantial decreases in 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerol (DAG) content. To elucidate the physiological significance of AAG accumulation during myocardial ischemia, rabbit myocardial protein kinase C was partially purified by DE-52 and high-performance hydroxylapatite chromatographies, and the potency of AAG as an activator of myocardial protein kinase C was assessed. Both AAG and 1-O-alkyl-2-acyl-sn-glycerol are potent activators of myocardial protein kinase C with obligatory requirements for physiological increments in free Ca2+ concentration. In contrast, a substantial amount of myocardial protein kinase C activity elicited by DAG was calcium independent. Concentration dependence of ATP for protein kinase C-mediated phosphorylation was identical utilizing either ether-linked diglycerides or DAG as activators, with maximal phosphorylation manifest at ATP concentrations two orders of magnitude less than those found in ischemic myocardium. Thus accumulation of AAG in ischemic myocardium in conjunction with increases in intracellular free Ca2+ concentration may synergistically activate protein kinase C and therefore modulate phosphorylation of proteins in specific subcellular loci.

Canine myocardial sarcolemma was purified, and its phospholipid constituents were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry, and conventional techniques. Canine myocardial sarcolemma contained 2.7 mumol of lipid Pi/mg of protein which was comprised predominantly of choline glycerophospholipids (47%), ethanolamine glycerophospholipids (28%), and sphingomyelin (11%). Sarcolemmal phospholipids contained 40% plasmalogen which was quantitatively accounted for by choline (57% of choline glycerophospholipid) and ethanolamine (64% of ethanolamine glycerophospholipid) plasmalogens. Choline plasmalogens contained predominantly the vinyl ether of palmitic aldehyde though ethanolamine plasmalogens were composed predominantly of the vinyl ethers of stearic and oleic aldehydes. The majority of sarcolemmal ethanolamine glycerophospholipids (75%) contained arachidonic acid esterified to the sn-2 carbon. Sphingomyelin was composed predominantly of long-chain saturated fatty acids (stearic and arachidic) as well as substantial amounts (8%) of odd chain length saturated fatty acids. The possible functional role of these unusual phospholipid constituents is discussed.

Recent studies have implicated accelerated sarcolemmal phospholipid catabolism as a mediator of the lethal sequelae of atherosclerotic heart disease. We have demonstrated that plasmalogens are the predominant phospholipid constituents of canine myocardium and that plasmalogens are hydrolyzed by a novel calcium independent plasmalogen selective phospholipase A2. Since the activities of phospholipases are modulated by the molecular dynamics and interfacial characteristics of their phospholipid substrates, we compared the molecular dynamics of plasmenylcholine and phosphatidylcholine vesicles by electron spin resonance spectroscopy and deuterium magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Plasmenylcholine vesicles have separate and distinct molecular dynamics in comparisons to their phosphatidylcholine counterparts as ascertained by substantial decreases in the angular fluctuations and motional velocities of probes attached to their sn-2 aliphatic constituents. Furthermore, since free radical oxidation of myocardial lipid constituents occurs during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion, we demonstrated that 1O2 mediated oxidation of plasmenylcholine resulted in the generation of several products which have chromatographic characteristics and molecular masses corresponding to 2-acyl lysophosphatide derivatives. Taken together, these studies underscore the biologic significance of the predominance of sarcolemmal plasmalogens present in mammalian myocardium and suggest that their catabolism by plasmalogen selective phospholipases and/or oxidative processes may contribute to the lethal sequelae of myocardial ischemia.

Since lysophosphatides have been implicated as arrhythmogenic metabolites, modulation of their catabolism in cardiac myocytes has been characterized. Rat cardiac myocytes and mesenchymal cells grown in culture were found to contain cytosolic lysophospholipase with specific activities of 1.3 +/- 0.1 and 0.9 +/- 0.1 nmol X mg-1 X min-1, respectively. Rat myocytic lysophospholipase had a molecular mass of approximately 20,000 daltons, estimated by gel filtration chromatography. Kinetic analysis of cytosolic myocytic lysophospholipase demonstrated a Michaelis constant of 11 microM, a pH optimum of 8.0, and competitive inhibition by L-palmitoyl carnitine (inhibitory constant of 12 microM). Although lysophospholipase-transacylase activity could not be detected in rat myocyte or mesenchymal cell cultures, rabbit myocytes isolated by perfusion of isolated hearts with collagenase contained lysophospholipase-transacylase in cytosolic extracts with a specific activity of 0.2 nmol X mg-1 X min-1. These results demonstrate the presence of lysophospholipase in cardiac myocytes and suggest that the increase in long-chain acyl carnitine, which occurs during myocardial ischemia, may contribute to accumulation of lysophosphatides within cardiac myocytes.

Rabbit myocardial cytosolic acyl coenzyme A (acyl-CoA) hydrolase activity was purified to near-homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation and ion-exchange, gel filtration, chromatofocusing, and hydroxylapatite chromatographies. Kinetic analysis of the purified protein demonstrated a maximum velocity of 24 mumol/(mg . min) and an apparent Michaelis constant of 50 microM. Cytosolic acyl-CoA hydrolase and lysophospholipase activities cochromatographed in every fraction of every step. The purified protein was a single band (Mr 23 000) after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver staining. These results suggest that cytosolic lysophospholipase and palmitoyl-CoA hydrolase activities are catalyzed by a single polypeptide with dual activities. Palmitoyl-CoA competitively inhibited lysophospholipase activity (Ki = 4 microM). Low concentrations (20 microM) of lysophosphatidylcholine or L-palmitoylcarnitine increased palmitoyl-CoA hydrolase activity at low palmitoyl-CoA concentrations but had little effect at high concentrations of palmitoyl-CoA. In contrast, high concentrations (100 microM) of lysophosphatidylcholine or L-palmitoylcarnitine inhibited palmitoyl-CoA hydrolase activity. The results suggest that interactions between endogenous cardiac amphiphiles and palmitoyl-CoA hydrolase contribute to the regulation of intracellular long-chain acyl-CoA concentrations and therefore potentially modulate fluxes of fatty acid through several biochemical pathways.

The quantitative analysis of the mobile high-energy phosphorus metabolites in isovolumic Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts has been performed by 31P NMR utilizing rapid pulse repetition to optimize sensitivity. Absolute quantification required reference to an external standard, determination of differential magnetization saturation and resonance peak area integration by Lorentzian lineshape analysis. Traditionally accepted hemodynamic indices (LVDP, dp/dt) and biochemical indices (lactate, pyruvate) of myocardial function were measured concomitantly with all NMR determinations. Hemodynamically and biochemically competent Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts were found to have intracellular PCr, ATP, GPC, and Pi concentrations of 14.95 +/- 0.25, 8.08 +/- 0.13, 5.20 +/- 0.58 and 2.61 +/- 0.47 mM respectively. Intracellular pH was 7.03 +/- 0.01. Cytosolic ADP concentration was derived from a creatine kinase equilibrium model and determined to be approximately 36 microM. Reduction of perfusate flow from 20 to 2.5 ml/min demonstrated statistically significant decreases in PCr, ATP, and pH as well as an increase in Pi that correlated closely with the independent hemodynamic and biochemical indices of myocardial function. The decrease in ATP and PCr concentrations precisely matched the increase in Pi during reduced flow. These results constitute the first quantitative determination of intracellular metabolite concentrations by 31P NMR in intact rabbit myocardium under physiologic and low flow conditions.

The phospholipid molecular species of canine myocardial sarcoplasmic reticulum were identified by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry, reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, and other conventional techniques. Cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum contains 1.4 mumol of lipid Pi/mg of protein which is comprised of 53% plasmalogen. Cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum ethanolamine glycerophospholipid contains 73% plasmalogen that is predominantly comprised of moieties with 18-carbon vinyl ethers at the sn-1 position and arachidonic acid at the sn-2 position. In contrast, canine skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum contains only 19% plasmalogen that is predominantly comprised of ethanolamine plasmalogen (78% of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum ethanolamine glycerophospholipid) with arachidonic and docosatetraenoic acids at the sn-2 position. The possibility that tetraenoic ethanolamine plasmalogens in both cardiac and skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum facilitate calcium translocation by their propensity for adopting a hexagonal II conformation at physiologic temperatures is discussed.

Recently we have identified a novel choline and ethanolamine specific phospholipase C in myocardium and have hypothesized that this enzyme is responsible for the introduction of the vinyl ether linkage into plasmenylcholine by shuttling 1-O-alk-1'-enyl-2-acyl-sn-glycerol fragments from plasmenylethanolamine to plasmenylcholine (Wolf, R. A., and Gross, R. W. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 7295-7303). The present study demonstrates that rabbit myocardium contains endogenous 1-O-hexadec-1'-enyl-2-acyl-sn-glycerol (0.46 micrograms/g) and that these moieties are selectively utilized by myocardial choline phosphotransferase to generate plasmenylcholine. The apparent Michaelis constant of CDP-choline for microsomal choline phosphotransferase was 9 microM with a corresponding Vmax of 18 pmol/mg.min utilizing endogenous 1-O-alk-1'-enyl-2-acyl-sn-glycerol as substrate. The flux of CDP-choline into plasmenylcholine or phosphatidylcholine was similar despite the fact that the mass of endogenous 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerol was over 20 times the mass of endogenous 1-O-alk-1'-enyl-2-acyl-sn-glycerol. Augmentation of endogenous 1-O-alk-1'-enyl-2-acyl-sn-glycerol content by pretreatment of myocardial microsomes with exogenous phospholipase C resulted in an 8-fold increase in plasmenylcholine synthesis. The results suggest that myocardial plasmenylcholine biosynthesis occurs by polar head group remodeling utilizing endogenous 1-O-alk-1'-enyl-2-acyl-sn-glycerol as a synthetic intermediate. Flux through this pathway is likely regulated by physiologic increments in endogenous 1-O-alk-1'-enyl-2-acyl-sn-glycerol content and cytosolic CDP-choline concentration.

To facilitate evaluation of the influence of myocardial phospholipid metabolites on the development of electrophysiologic abnormalities induced by ischemia, a method for the quantification of choline and ethanolamine phospholipids suitable for accurate and reproducible analysis of small amounts of myocardium was developed. The procedure combines chloroform and methanol extraction of phospholipids after tissue homogenization with subsequent separation by sequential thin-layer and high-performance liquid chromatography. Phosphorus in purified lipid classes was determined with the correction for recovery based on 14C-labeled internal standards.

BAY K 8644 is a positive inotropic dihydropyridine which concentration-dependently increased contractile force in guinea-pig atria at 10 to 1000 nmol/l. In chemically skinned cardiac fibres from guinea-pig hearts the substance did not change the tension induced by calcium. Also BAY K 8644 did not release calcium from intracellular myocardial stores like caffeine since it failed to evoke a contractile response in saponin-treated, calcium-loaded cardiac muscle. Thus, the drug exerts its effects neither by sensitizing the contractile apparatus to calcium nor by a caffeine-like action.

Rabbit myocardial lysophospholipase-transacylase was purified 69,000-fold to near homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-Sephacel, hydroxylapatite chromatography, and high precision liquid chromatography. The purified protein was a single band (Mr = 63,000) after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver staining. It had a specific activity of 4 mumol/mg/min for fatty acid release and 2 mumol/mg/min for phosphatidylcholine synthesis. Both its hydrolase and transacylase activities were saturated at a lysophosphatidylcholine concentration of 20 microM and transacylation was prominent at submicellar concentrations of substrate (2 microM). Fatty acid release obeyed Michaelian kinetics, but Line-weaver-Burk plots of transacylase activity were parabolic. In contrast, plots of the reciprocal of the initial reaction velocity of phosphatidylcholine formation (1/V) versus 1/[S]2 were linear. Computer simulations of a reaction mechanism in which two molecules of substrate formed a ternary complex with the enzyme resulted in linear Lineweaver-Burk plots for fatty acid release and linear 1/V versus 1/[S]2 plots for phosphatidylcholine synthesis. Low concentrations of long chain acylcarnitine (5-20 microM) markedly inhibited both fatty acid release and phosphatidylcholine synthesis. Inhibition of lysophospholipase-transacylase by L-palmitoylcarnitine was reversible by dilution or dialysis. Since long chain acylcarnitines increase in the cytosolic compartment of ischemic myocardium, these results suggest that inhibition of lysophospholipase-transacylase by long chain acylcarnitines contributes to the accumulation of lysophosphoglycerides in ischemic myocardium with consequent deleterious effects on membrane function.

Metabolism of lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), recently implicated in arrhythmogenesis, was characterized in rabbit ventricular homogenates. Activities of four enzymatic pathways were distinguishable after subcellular fractionation and DEAE-Sephacel chromatography including microsomal lysophospholipase, microsomal acyl coenzyme A/LPC acyltransferase, cytosolic lysophospholipase, and cytosolic lysophospholipase-transacylase. Microsomal lysophospholipase activity was attenuated 81% by acidosis comparable to that in ischemic myocardium (pH 6.5) and was inhibited by substrate. LPC acyltransferase was identified in the microsomal fraction based on CoA-dependent phosphatidyl choline synthesis, the positional specificity of acylation of LPC, and identical reaction velocities with both of its labeled co-substrates. LPC acyltransferase had a Vmax of 5.1 nmol/mg/min, a broad pH optimum centered at pH 7, and an apparent Km for LPC and palmitoyl-CoA of 14 microM and 7 microM. Cytosolic lysophospholipase was separated from lysophospholipase-transacylase by DEAE-Sephacel chromatography and distinguished from microsomal lysophospholipase by its broad pH activity curve, Michaelis-Menten kinetics (Vmax = 9.5 nmol/mg/min, Km = 7.5 microM), and lack of substrate inhibition. Lysophospholipase-transacylase was identified in the cytosolic fraction by CoA-independent phosphatidyl choline synthesis and purified 4885-fold from homogenate by ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-Sephacel, hydroxylapatite, gel filtration, and polylysine chromatography. The partially purified enzyme had a transacylase/lysophospholipase activity ratio of 0.6, and transacylation of LPC was prominent at submicellar concentrations of substrate.

Two novel phospholipase activities have been identified in the cytosolic fraction of canine myocardium. Neutral active phospholipase C activity was partially purified by anion exchange, hydroxylapatite, chromatofocusing, and gel filtration chromatographies. The partially purified enzyme had similar maximum velocities (237 versus 241 nmol/mg X h) and apparent Michaelis constants (20 versus 14 microM) utilizing either plasmenylcholine or phosphatidylcholine as substrate. Myocardial phospholipase C had a pH optimum between 7 and 8, required divalent cations for maximal activity, and did not hydrolyze phosphatidylinositol or sphingomyelin. Myocardial cytosol contained a potent inhibitor of phospholipase C which masked enzymic activity until it was removed during the purification procedure. A plasmalogen selective phospholipase A2 activity was also identified in the cytosolic fraction of canine myocardium. The protein catalyzing this activity was partially purified by DEAE-Sephacel-hydroxylapatite tandem chromatography and exhibited a maximum velocity of 5 nmol/mg X h for plasmenylcholine but only 1 nmol/mg X h for phosphatidylcholine, had a pH optimum between 6 and 7 for both substrates, and did not require calcium ion for activity. These results constitute the first demonstration of a neutral active phospholipase C specific for choline and ethanolamine glycerophospholipids and a plasmalogen selective phospholipase A2 in mammalian tissue.

Rabbit myocardial lysophospholipase was purified 27,000-fold to near homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-Sephacel, gel filtration, chromatofocusing, and hydroxylapatite chromatography. Chromatofocusing demonstrated two activity peaks, each with a molecular mass of 23,000 daltons by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Both activity peaks had similar kinetic parameters (Vmax = 7 mumols/mg/min, Km = 9-11 microM) and similar pH profiles (7.5 optimum). Each activity peak was competitively inhibited by L-palmitoylcarnitine with similar inhibitory constants (KI = 10-11 microM). In addition, palmitic acid competitively inhibited myocardial lysophospholipase (KI = 37 microM). A rapid loss of lysophospholipase activity resulted from heating at 37 degrees C in the absence of substrate (t1/2 = 3 min). This thermal denaturation was attenuated similarly by either lysophosphatidylcholine (15 microM) or L-palmitoylcarnitine (15 microM). Thus, L-palmitoylcarnitine complexes with purified myocardial lysophospholipase and competitively inhibits a major pathway of lysophosphatidylcholine catabolism, thereby potentially contributing to accumulation of lysophosphatides in ischemic myocardium and ventricular dysrhythmia.

Selective release of arachidonic acid from prelabeled phospholipid pools has been observed following exposure of neonatal rat cardiac myocytes to metabolic inhibitors in vitro and has been correlated temporally with the development of irreversible sarcolemmal damage. Hydrolysis of phospholipids with release of arachidonic acid may be an important mechanism in the pathogenesis of sarcolemmal damage induced by ischemia. To elucidate potential subcellular loci of arachidonic acid release in ischemic myocardium, we characterized the phospholipid composition of adult rat myocardial sarcolemma and delineated the biochemical and subcellular distribution of radiolabeled arachidonic acid in neonatal rat myocytes incubated with [3H]-arachidonic acid for selected intervals. Although arachidonic acid comprised 13 +/- 3% of total aliphatic moieties in combined choline and ethanolamine glycerophospholipids isolated from purified adult rat myocardial sarcolemma, radiolabeled arachidonic acid could not be detected in sarcolemma of cultured neonatal rat myocytes incubated with 5 nM [3H]arachidonic acid for 24 h. Radioactivity was located almost exclusively in mitochondria and internal cytoplasmic membranes (primarily sarcoplasmic reticulum), which collectively contained 90% of myocyte radioactivity. These results indicate that radiolabeled arachidonic acid released from prelabeled phospholipid pools on exposure of neonatal rat myocytes to oxidative inhibitors is derived from mitochondria and internal cell membranes. The diminutive labeling of the sarcolemma suggests that turnover of arachidonoyl phospholipids is slower in the sarcolemma than in other membranous organelles.

Amphiphilic moieties such as lysophosphoglycerides and long-chain acyl carnitines accumulate in ischemic myocardium and potentially contribute to the sequelae of myocardial ischemia. To characterize alterations in membrane molecular dynamics produced by amphiphilic compounds, highly purified preparations of canine myocardial sarcolemma were spin-labeled with paramagnetic probes (5-, 12-, or 16-doxyl stearate), and alterations produced by amphiphilic compounds were quantified by electron spin resonance spectroscopy. Incorporation of 1.5, 3, or 6 mol % palmitoyl lysophosphatidylcholine resulted in a decrease of the order parameter of 16-doxyl stearate from 0.164 to 0.161, 0.155, and 0.145, respectively. Similar increases in membrane fluidity in the interior of the bilayer were present when palmitoyl lysophosphatidylethanolamine, L-palmitoyl carnitine, and platelet-activating factor were incorporated into sarcolemma. In contrast, incubation of sarcolemma with lysophosphatidylcholine did not result in significant change of the order parameter of 5-doxyl stearate, even at 6 mol %, demonstrating that lysophosphatidylcholine increases the transmembrane fluidity gradient. Sarcolemma treated with phospholipase A2 exhibited a time-dependent decrease in the rotational correlation time and order parameter when lysophospholipids constituted a small amount (6%) of sarcolemmal phospholipids. Furthermore, the effects of lysophosphatidylcholine were not dependent upon its physical state, since bilayers composed of gramicidin and lysophosphatidylcholine resulted in similar increases in membrane fluidity as micellar lysophosphatidylcholine. The results suggest that alterations in sarcolemmal molecular dynamics are one mechanism through which amphiphilic moieties mediate their multiple effects. Such alterations could contribute to the electrophysiological and biochemical sequelae of myocardial ischemia.