Investigation of human lymphocyte plasma membrane associated nucleic acid.

Plasma membranes were prepared from the human lymphocyte cell line WIL23A by hypotonic swelling, Dounce homogenization, differential and equilibrium centrifugation. The resulting vesiculated membrane fragments were found to have densities of 1.10 and 1.17 g/ml, and were defined by lactoperoxidase mediated whole cell iodination, L-[3H] fucose incorporation, 5'-nucleotidase activity (EC 3.1.3.5) and electron micrographic visualization. Recovery of plasma membrane from whole cell homogenates was estimated to be approximately 30-35% as judged by the recovery of 125I-labeled cell surface protein. When plasma membranes were prepared from cells which had been incubated for 18 h in the presence of 0.5 muCi/ml [3H] thymidine such that greater than 10(9) acid insoluble counts could be demonstrated in the whole cell homogenates, no [3H] thymidine label and presumably, therefore, no DNA, could be shown to be coincident with either the 1.10 or 1.17 density. Similar experiments with [3H] uridine suggested that 90% of the plasma membranes did not contain RNA, while 10% remained questionable.

In vitro DNA synthesis on smooth membranes observed by fluorescence.

Smooth membranes have been isolated from a human diploid line of lymphocytes. These membranes exhibit an endogenous DNA-synthesizing capability which is partially destroyed by prior treatment with RNase. In order to ascertain the role of the membranes in the DNA synthesis we have examined the conformation of the membrane proteins by observing fluorescence changes of the intrinsic probe, tryptophan. We have observed that on addition of the deoxynucleoside-5'-triphosphates, which permits DNA synthesis, there are fluorescence changes due to the tryptophan residue; when DNA synthesis is prevented by omitting some of the precursor triphosphates, fluorescence changes are absent. These effects have been observed with plasma and nuclear membrane fractions; the former may contain a small fraction of the latter. Similar membrane preparations from non-lymphoid cells do not process the endogenous DNA-synthesizing system, as shown by the lack of incorporation of radioactive precursors of fluorescence changes.