| Abstract: | Partition coefficients of organophosphorus and organochlorine insecticides were determined in several types of membrane. Insecticide partitioning varied among the membranes under study, depending on temperature, cholesterol content and on the physico-chemical profiles of membrane components and the insecticides themselves. The maximal partitions for DDT, lindane, parathion and malathion in egg phosphatidylcholine bilayers over the temperature range from 10 to 37°C (at which the lipid is in the liquid-crystalline state) were about 260000, 2000, 1000 and 120, respectively. Incorporation of 50 mol% cholesterol in egg phosphatidylcholine bilayers dramatically decreased the partition and almost abolished the temperature effect. First-order phase transitions of dimyristoyl-, dipalmitoyl- and distearoylphosphatidylcholines (DMPC, DPPC and DSPC) were accompanied by a sharp increase in insecticide partition. Furthermore, the insecticides under study were more easily accommodated in bilayers of short-aliphatic-chain lipids, since higher values of partition were obtained in DMPC bilayers. Partition values in native membranes depended considerably on the membrane type and composition and were higher in sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and mitochondria than in brain microsomes, myelin and erythrocytes. Identical results were obtained in related liposomes of total extracted lipids, although the absolute partitions showed decreased values. In general, the incorporation of insecticides correlated reasonably with the cholesterol content of the membranes. The order of partitioning of the above insecticides did not run parallel with their toxicity to mammals and, both in model and in native membranes, followed the sequence: DDT ? lindane > parathion > malathion. |
