Phospholipid- and fatty acid-composition in the erythrocyte membrane of the one-humped camel [Camelus dromedarius] and its influence on vesicle properties prepared from these lipids

The lipid composition of the membrane of erythrocytes from the one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius) concerning the different lipid classes and the fatty acids was investigated for the first time. The most frequently occurring lipids are spingomyelin (28.8 % of total lipids), phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine (each about 12 %). The cholesterol/lipid ratio was calculated to be 0.30 (w/w). The fatty acids consist of shorter and/or more unsaturated chains, which resulted in a more fluid membrane compared to human RBC membranes. Liposomes prepared from erythrocyte lipid extracts were used to investigate the membrane properties resulting from this special lipid mixture. These vesicles were sufficient stable in buffer and significantly more stable than vesicles prepared from human erythrocyte lipid extracts in serum at 37°C. Lipoplexes prepared from cationic erythrocyte lipid liposomes and a reporter gene showed in vitro an improved transfection on two colon carcinoma cells with an enhancement of up to 400 % in β-galactosidase activity in comparison to Lipofectin ®.