Interaction of fluralaner with binary model membranes: Potential implications in the selectivity for invertebrates/vertebrates

Abstract

GABAA receptors (GABAA-R) are the target of widely used gabaergic insecticides such as fluralaner, a second generation non-competitive antagonist. Fluralaner blocks GABAA-R, binding to a pocket in the transmembrane subunit interface. Because of the location of its binding pocket, it is expected that fluralaner accesses to the receptor by previously partitioning into the bilayer. Therefore, differences in lipid composition of insect and mammal cells become relevant to determine the impact of membrane composition on the nonspecific selectivity of gabaergic insecticides. Insect cells show minimal concentration of cholesterol and they modulate membrane fluidity by regulating PE:PC ratios. On the other hand, vertebrate cholesterol concentration can be as high as 50%, depending on the type of cell. We used experimental Langmuir monolayer and Molecular Dynamics Simulations (MDS) to characterize the effect and interactions of the insecticide fluralaner with model membranes with varying concentrations of POPC:POPE and POPC:CHOL. Monolayer experiments showed that this insecticide reduces film rigidity. MDS showed that fluralaner is located at the interface between the acyl chain and the polar region of the membrane, but this location shifts at high CHOL concentrations towards the phosphate region. This is accompanied by a shift in the orientation of the fluralaner backbone, affecting fluralaner solubility. The presence of CHOL favors fluralaner aggregation, while POPE has the opposite effect, allowing its solubilization and the presence of individual insecticide molecules homogeneously dispersed. Our work suggests that differences in membrane composition could unspecifically influence the selectivity of gabaergic insecticides, modulating fluralaner solubility and fluralaner's access to GABAA-R.