Biotin
Several human leucocyte surface glycoproteins and two lymphoid protein kinases were transiently expressed in monkey COS-7 fibroblastoid cells. All glycosylphospha-tidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins (CD14, CD16B, CD48, CD59, CD87 and GPI-anchored versions of CD2 and CD25) and protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) Lck but not transmembrane proteins (CD2, CD4, CD5, CD6, CD8) and PTK ZAP-70 were in part localized in buoyant, lipid-rich, detergent-resistant membrane GPI-microdomains of the COS cells. Endogenous GPI-microdomains of COS cells appear to be, in contrast to those present in leucocytes, essentially devoid of associated PTKs. Our results indicate that GPI-anchor is sufficient to target proteins to these membrane specializations even if expressed ectopically. Moreover, the N-terminal double acylation of the PTK Lck appears to be functional also in COS cells and targets the enzyme to the membrane GPI-microdomains implicated in receptor signalling.
A monoclonal antibody MEM-43 was prepared, which recognizes an antigen expressed on all peripheral blood leucocytes, on erythrocytes and several cell lines, but is absent from U937, Nalm-6, Daudi and Raji cell lines. The antigen isolated by immunoaffinity chromatography from several cell lines is an 18,000-25,000 mol. wt glycoprotein. An apparently identical antigen isolated from erythrocytes binds to several lectins and has a 14,000 mol. wt polypeptide backbone, modified by an endoglycosidase F-sensitive carbohydrate moiety. The epitope recognized is reduction-sensitive. The sequence of N-terminal 17 amino acid residues was determined; five out of six N-terminal amino acids are identical to those found at the N-terminus of the mouse lymphocyte surface antigen Ly-6C. The antigen is completely released from the cell surface after treatment with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C.