Retinal and retinol promote membrane fusion

Disk membranes from the bovine retinal rod outer segments (ROS) were found to fuse with vesicles made of lipids extracted from unbleached ROS disk membranes, using a lipid mixing assay for membrane fusion (relief of self-quenching of R₁₈, octadecylrhodamine B chloride). If the retinal chromophore of rhodopsin was reductively linked to opsin before lipid extraction, the vesicles made of the extracted lipids were not suitable targets for fusion of the disk membranes. The addition of retinal and retinool to these vesicles restored their ability to fuse. Therefore, the presence of all-trans retinal was implicated in promoting membrane fusion in this system. To test this possibility, the ability of retinal and retinol to influence the phase behavior and the fusion capability of large unilamellar vesicles (LUV) of N-methyl dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (N-methyl-DOPE) was examined. Both retinal and retinaol stimulated the fusion of vesicles of N-methyl-DOPE (contents mixing with ANTS, 1-aminoaphthalene-3,6,8-trisulfonic acid; DPX, p-xylxylene bis(pyridinium bromide)). Both compounds reduced the onset temperature for isotropic resonances in the ³¹P-NMR spectra of N-methyl-DOPE dispersions and the onset temperature, T_H, for formation of hexagonal II phase. These results were consistent with previous studies in which the onset temperature for the ³¹P-NMR isotropic resonances were correlated with stimulation of membrane fusion. These data suggested that both retinal and retinol may stimulate membrane fusion by destabilizing the bilayers of membranes.