Fluorometric analysis of transferable membrane pores.

When pore-forming factors insert into the hyperpolarized membranes of lipid vesicles, ion gradients are rapidly equilibrated, effecting complete depolarization. This process can be conveniently followed with a potentiometric cyanine dye. The generality of the method is demonstrated by applications to three diverse materials. The well-studied gramicidin channel is used to demonstrate that the method is sensitive down to concentrations of 10(-12)M. An extract from the shark repellent skin secretion of the Red Sea flatfish displays activity in the assay and is used to demonstrate the potential of the method to elucidate some of the characteristics of the pore, including its molecularity. That membrane-active factors can be detected and assayed in crude preparations is demonstrated with an impure extract of "amoebapore" from Entamoeba histolytica. In addition, variation of the buffer composition surrounding the vesicles can provide information about the ion selectivity of the pore under investigation.