Interaction of N-myristoylethanolamine with cholesterol investigated in a Langmuir film at the air-water interface.

The dramatic increase in the content of N-acylethanolamines (NAEs) having different acyl chains in various tissues when subjected to stress has resulted in significant interest in investigations on these molecules. Previous studies suggested that N-myristoylethanolamine (NMEA) and cholesterol interact to form a 1:1 (mol/mol) complex. In studies reported here, pressure-area isotherms of Langmuir films at the air-water interface have shown that at low fractions of cholesterol, the average area per molecule is lower than that predicted for ideal mixing, whereas at high cholesterol content the observed molecular area is higher, with a cross-over point at the equimolar composition. A plausible model that can explain these observations is the following: addition of small amounts of cholesterol to NMEA results in a reorientation of the NMEA molecules from the tilted disposition in the crystalline state to the vertical and stabilization of the intermolecular interactions, leading to the formation of a compact monolayer film, whereas at the other end of the composition diagram, addition of small amounts of NMEA to cholesterol leads to a tilting of the cholesterol molecules resulting in an increase in the average area per molecule. In Brewster angle microscopy experiments, a stable and bright homogeneous condensed phase was observed at a relatively low applied pressure of 2 mN.m(-1) for the NMEA:Chol. (1:1, mol/mol) mixture, whereas all other samples required significantly higher pressures (>10 mN.m(-1)) to form a homogeneous condensed phase. These observations are consistent with the formation of a 1:1 stoichiometric complex between NMEA and cholesterol and suggest that increase in the content of NAEs under stress may modulate the composition and dynamics of lipid rafts in biological membranes, resulting in alterations in signaling events involving them, which may be relevant to the putative cytoprotective and stress-combating ability of NAEs.