Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Journal of General Physiology logoLink to The Journal of General Physiology
. 1967 Dec 1;50(11):2527–2545. doi: 10.1085/jgp.50.11.2527

The Effect of Valinomycin on the Ionic Permeability of Thin Lipid Membranes

Thomas E Andreoli 1, M Tieffenberg 1, Daniel C Tosteson 1
PMCID: PMC2225673  PMID: 5584619

Abstract

Optically black membranes prepared from sheep red cell lipids have a high electrical resistance (1–3 x 108 ohm-cm2). The ionic transference numbers (Ti) for cations (Na+ or K+) are equal to each other but at least four to five times greater than for Cl-. The cyclic depsipeptide valinomycin produces a striking decrease in the membrane resistance when K+, but not when Na+ is in the solutions bathing the membrane. The ratio T Na/T K, estimated from membrane voltages in the presence of ionic concentration gradients, approaches zero. The order of membrane monovalent cation selectivity, in the presence of valinomycin, is H+ > Rb+ > K+ > Cs+ > Na+. Addition of the antibiotic to one side of a membrane which separates identical solutions of NaCl produces a substantial (up to 80 mV) membrane voltage (side opposite valinomycin negative). These data are consistent with the hypothesis that valinomycin can interact with appropriately sized cations (hydrated diameter ??? 6 A) to increase their membrane permeability, perhaps by forming hydrogen bonds between the solvation shell of the cations and carbonyl oxygens in the valinomycin molecule which are directed toward the aperture of the ring.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1.0 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Andreoli T. E., Bangham J. A., Tosteson D. C. The formation and properties of thin lipid membranes from HK and LK sheep red cell lipids. J Gen Physiol. 1967 Jul;50(6):1729–1749. doi: 10.1085/jgp.50.6.1729. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bangham A. D., Standish M. M., Watkins J. C. Diffusion of univalent ions across the lamellae of swollen phospholipids. J Mol Biol. 1965 Aug;13(1):238–252. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(65)80093-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Del Castillo J., Rodriguez A., Romero C. A., Sanchez V. Lipid films as transducers for detection of antigen-antibody and enzyme-substrate reactions. Science. 1966 Jul 8;153(3732):185–188. doi: 10.1126/science.153.3732.185. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. EVANS J. V. Electrolyte concentrations in red blood cells of British breeds of sheep. Nature. 1954 Nov 13;174(4437):931–932. doi: 10.1038/174931a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Eisenman G., Sandblom J. P., Walker J. L., Jr Membrane structure and ion permeation. Study of ion exchange membrane structure and function is relevant to analysis of biological ion permeation. Science. 1967 Feb 24;155(3765):965–974. doi: 10.1126/science.155.3765.965. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hanai T., Haydon D. A., Taylor J. Polar group orientation and the electrical properties of lecithin bimolecular leaflets. J Theor Biol. 1965 Sep;9(2):278–296. doi: 10.1016/0022-5193(65)90113-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hanai T., Haydon D. A., Taylor J. The variation of capacitance and conductance of bimolecular lipid membranes with area. J Theor Biol. 1965 Nov;9(3):433–443. doi: 10.1016/0022-5193(65)90042-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Haydon D. A., Taylor J. The stability and properties of bimolecular lipid leaflets in aqueous solutions. J Theor Biol. 1963 May;4(3):281–296. doi: 10.1016/0022-5193(63)90007-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. MULLINS Lj. The penetration of some cations into muscle. J Gen Physiol. 1959 Mar 20;42(4):817–829. doi: 10.1085/jgp.42.4.817. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Mueller P., Rudin D. O. Development of K+-Na+ discrimination in experimental bimolecular lipid membranes by macrocyclic antibiotics. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1967 Feb 21;26(4):398–404. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(67)90559-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Mueller P., Rudin D. O. Induced excitability in reconstituted cell membrane structure. J Theor Biol. 1963 May;4(3):268–280. doi: 10.1016/0022-5193(63)90006-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Seufert W. D. Induced permeability changes in reconstituted cell membrane structure. Nature. 1965 Jul 10;207(993):174–176. doi: 10.1038/207174a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Tosteson D. C., Cook P., Andreoli T., Tieffenberg M. The effect of valinomycin on potassium and sodium permeability of HK and LK sheep red cells. J Gen Physiol. 1967 Dec;50(11):2513–2525. doi: 10.1085/jgp.50.11.2513. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. WILBRANDT W., ROSENBERG T. The concept of carrier transport and its corollaries in pharmacology. Pharmacol Rev. 1961 Jun;13:109–183. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. de GIER, VAN DEENEN L. Some lipid characteristics of red cell membranes of various animal species. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1961 May 13;49:286–296. doi: 10.1016/0006-3002(61)90128-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of General Physiology are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES