Effects of Ceramide and Dihydroceramide Stereochemistry at C‑3 on the Phase Behavior and Permeability of Skin Lipid Membranes

Ceramides (Cer) are key components of the skin permeability barrier. Sphingosine-based CerNS and dihydrosphingosine-based CerNdS (dihydroCer) have two chiral centers; however, the importance of the correct stereochemistry in the skin barrier Cer is unknown. We investigated the role of the configuration at C-3 of CerNS and CerNdS in the organization and permeability of model skin lipid membranes. Unnatural l-<i>threo</i>-CerNS and l-<i>threo</i>-CerNdS with 24-C acyl chains were synthesized and, along with their natural d-<i>erythro</i>-isomers, incorporated into membranes composed of major stratum corneum lipids (Cer, free fatty acids, cholesterol, and cholesteryl sulfate). The membrane microstructure was investigated by X-ray powder diffraction and infrared spectroscopy, including deuterated free fatty acids. Inversion of the C-3 configuration in CerNS and CerNdS increased phase transition temperatures, had no significant effects on lamellar phases, but also decreased the proportion of orthorhombic packing and decreased lipid mixing in the model membranes. These changes in membrane organization resulted in membrane permeabilities that ranged from unchanged to 5-fold higher (depending on the permeability markers, namely, water loss, electrical impedance, flux of theophylline, and flux of indomethacin) compared to membranes with natural CerNS/NdS isomers. Thus, the physiological d-<i>erythro</i> stereochemistry of skin Cer and dihydroCer appears to be essential for their correct barrier function

Effects of 6‑Hydroxyceramides on the Thermotropic Phase Behavior and Permeability of Model Skin Lipid Membranes

Ceramides (Cer) based on 6-hydroxysphingosine are important components of the human skin barrier, the <i>stratum corneum</i>. Although diminished concentrations of 6-hydroxyCer have been detected in skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis, our knowledge on these unusual sphingolipids, which have only been found in the skin, is limited. In this work, we investigate the biophysical behavior of <i>N</i>-lignoceroyl-6-hydroxysphingosine (Cer NH) in multilamellar lipid membranes composed of Cer/free fatty acids (FFAs) (C16–C24)/cholesterol/cholesteryl sulfate. To probe the Cer structure–activity relationships, we compared Cer NH membranes with membranes containing Cer with sphingosine (Cer NS), dihydrosphingosine, and phytosphingosine (Cer NP), all with the same acyl chain length (C24). Compared with Cer NS, 6-hydroxylation of Cer not only increased membrane water loss and permeability in a lipophilic model compound but also dramatically increased the membrane opposition to electrical current, which is proportional to the flux of ions. Infrared spectroscopy revealed that Cer hydroxylation (in either Cer NH or Cer NP) increased the main transition temperature of the membrane but prevented good Cer mixing with FFAs. X-ray powder diffraction showed not only lamellar phases with shorter periodicity upon Cer hydroxylation but also the formation of an unusually long periodicity phase (<i>d</i> = 10.6 nm) in Cer NH-containing membranes. Thus, 6-hydroxyCer behaves differently from sphingosine- and phytosphingosine-based Cer. In particular, the ability to form a long-periodicity lamellar phase and highly limited permeability to ions indicate the manner in which 6-hydroxylated Cer contribute to the skin barrier function

Structure–Activity Relationships of Nitro-Substituted Aroylhydrazone Iron Chelators with Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Activities

Aroylhydrazone iron chelators such as salicylaldehyde isonicotinoyl hydrazone (SIH) protect various cells against oxidative injury and display antineoplastic activities. Previous studies have shown that a nitro-substituted hydrazone, namely, NHAPI, displayed markedly improved plasma stability, selective antitumor activity, and moderate antioxidant properties. In this study, we prepared four series of novel NHAPI derivatives and explored their iron chelation activities, anti- or pro-oxidant effects, protection against model oxidative injury in the H9c2 cell line derived from rat embryonic cardiac myoblasts, cytotoxicities to the corresponding noncancerous H9c2 cells, and antiproliferative activities against the MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma and HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cell lines. Nitro substitution had both negative and positive effects on the examined properties, and we identified new structure–activity relationships. Naphthyl and biphenyl derivatives showed selective antiproliferative action, particularly in the breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cell line, where they exceeded the selectivity of the parent compound NHAPI. Of particular interest is a compound prepared from 2-hydroxy-5-methyl-3-nitroacetophenone and biphenyl-4-carbohydrazide, which protected cardiomyoblasts against oxidative injury at 1.8 ± 1.2 μM with 24-fold higher selectivity than SIH. These compounds will serve as leads for further structural optimization and mechanistic studies

Structural Changes in Ceramide Bilayers Rationalize Increased Permeation through Stratum Corneum Models with Shorter Acyl Tails

Ceramides are indispensable constituents of the stratum corneum (SC), the uppermost impermeable layer of human skin. Ceramides with shorter (four- to eight-carbon acyl chains) fatty acid chains increase skin and model membrane permeability, while further shortening of the chain leads to increased resistance to penetration almost as good as that of ceramides from healthy skin (24 carbons long on average). Here we address the extent to which the atomistic CHARMM36 and coarse-grain MARTINI molecular dynamics (MD) simulations reflect the skin permeability data. As a result, we observed the same bell-shaped permeability trend for water that was observed in the skin and multilayer membrane experiments for model compounds. We showed that the enhanced permeability of the short ceramides is mainly caused by the disturbance of their headgroup conformation because of their inability to accommodate the shorter lipid acyl chain into a typical hairpin conformation, which further led to their destabilization and phase separation. As MD simulations described well delicate structural features of SC membranes, they seem to be suitable for further studies of the SC superstructure, including the development of skin penetration enhancers for transdermal drug delivery and skin toxicity risk assessment studies

Scalable Synthesis of Human Ultralong Chain Ceramides

Ceramides with ultralong chains (≥30 carbons), also known as acylceramides, play a critical role in the survival of mammals on dry land. An efficient and scalable synthesis of four major classes of ultralong human skin ceramides is reported. The key approach involves the use of a succinimidyl ester that acts as a protective group, helps overcome the extremely low solubility, and simultaneously activates the fatty acid for its clean and high-yielding attachment to a sphingoid base

Different Phase Behavior and Packing of Ceramides with Long (C16) and Very Long (C24) Acyls in Model Membranes: Infrared Spectroscopy Using Deuterated Lipids

Ceramides (Cer) are the central molecules in sphingolipid metabolism that participate in cellular signaling and also prevent excessive water loss by the skin. Previous studies showed that sphingosine-based Cer with a long 16C chain (CerNS16) and very long 24C-chain ceramides (CerNS24) differ in their biological actions. Increased levels of long CerNS16 at the expense of the very long CerNS24 have been found in atopic dermatitis patients, and this change correlated with the skin barrier properties. To probe the membrane behavior of the long CerNS16 and the very long chain CerNS24, we studied their interactions with fatty acids and cholesterol in model stratum corneum membranes using infrared spectroscopy. Using Cer with deuterated acyls and/or deuterated fatty acids, we showed differences in lipid mixing, packing, and thermotropic phase behavior between long and very long Cer. These differences were observed in the presence of lignoceric acid or a heterogeneous fatty acid mixture (C16–C24), in the presence or absence of cholesterol sulfate, and at 5–95% humidity. In these membranes, very long CerNS24 prefers an extended (splayed-chain) conformation in which the fatty acid is associated with the very long Cer chain. In contrast, the shorter CerNS16 and fatty acids are mostly phase separated

Ceramides in the Skin Lipid Membranes: Length Matters

Ceramides are essential constituents of the skin barrier that allow humans to live on dry land. Reduced levels of ceramides have been associated with skin diseases, e.g., atopic dermatitis. However, the structural requirements and mechanisms of action of ceramides are not fully understood. Here, we report the effects of ceramide acyl chain length on the permeabilities and biophysics of lipid membranes composed of ceramides (or free sphingosine), fatty acids, cholesterol, and cholesterol sulfate. Short-chain ceramides increased the permeability of the lipid membranes compared to a long-chain ceramide with maxima at 4–6 carbons in the acyl. By a combination of differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Langmuir monolayers, and atomic force microscopy, we found that the reason for this effect in short ceramides was a lower proportion of tight orthorhombic packing and phase separation of continuous short ceramide-enriched domains with shorter lamellar periodicity compared to native long ceramides. Thus, long acyl chains in ceramides are essential for the formation of tightly packed impermeable lipid lamellae. Moreover, the model skin lipid membranes are a valuable tool to study the relationships between the lipid structure and composition, lipid organization, and the membrane permeability