Cell surface lipids and adhesion. IV. The effects of trypsin on lipid turnover by the plasmalemma.

Trypsin treatment of intact cells or isolated plasmalemmae from embryonic chick neural retinae leads to an accumulation of lysophospholipids in the plasmalemmae. Trypsin was used at activities commonly used in cell disaggregation techniques. This accumulation appears to result from the decrease in acyltransferase activity in the plasmalemma produced by enzyme treatment. Plasmalemmal CoA ligase activity is not affected by trypsin treatment. Trypsinization has little effect on plasmalemmal phospholipase A2 activity. These results are discussed in relation to (a) the effects of trypsinization on cell adhesion, and (b) the theory that cells cannot adhere to lecithins because of their fluidity or surface-free-energy values. We propose that the effects of trypsinization on adhesion may in large part be due to the effects on other plasmalemmal proteins. Similarly the inability of cells to adhere to lecithin substrates is simply explained as being due to the lysolecithin that contacting cells release from these substrates.