IgE receptor-mediated hydrolysis of phosphoinositides by cytoplasts from rat basophilic leukemia cells.

Cytoplasts (plasma membrane sacs containing cytoplasm, endoplasmic reticulum, and few organelles) were prepared from rat basophilic leukemia cells by treatment with cytochalasin B and centrifugation at 33 degrees C through stepwise gradients of Ficoll. To compare the relative ability of cytoplasts and cells to generate second-messengers (inositol phosphates, Ca2+) in response to stimulation of the high affinity receptor for IgE, we normalized our results per recovered receptor by using the tightly bound IgE as a marker. This marker correlated well with other estimates of plasma membrane recovery. Furthermore, data normalized on this basis correlated well with data expressed as percentage of phosphoinositides hydrolyzed. The purest fraction of cytoplasts (containing about 6% of the receptors) was satisfactorily devoid of organelles and, at early times, generated about 50% as much inositol phosphates per receptor as did the intact, untreated cells. This response of the cytoplasts, like that of the cells, was totally dependent upon aggregation of the receptors. The response by the cytoplasts (in the 5-min time frame which we examined), unlike that of the cells, was not enhanced by the presence of extracellular Ca2+. Furthermore, unlike the cells, the cytoplasts failed to raise their intracellular free Ca2+ levels after addition of polyvalent Ag. This result suggests that aggregation of the receptors may be insufficient, by itself, to open the normal Ca2+ channels.