Phosphatidylserine and ornithine-containing lipids of Bordetella, hemagglutinins of lipoamino acid structure, and their control in biomembranes.

From the observation by light and electron microscopy, it was proved that phosphatidylserine agglutinates human erythrocytes by the same mechanism as that of ornithine-containing lipids of Bordetella described previously. The proposed mechanism was that two erythrocytes were bound through some liposomes of the lipoamino acids by hydrophobic and ionic interaction, and hydrogen bonding, between the lipoamino acids and the lipids or proteins in the membranes of erythrocytes. Hemagglutinating activity of phosphatidylserine might be controlled so as not to be expressed in biomembranes, on the basis of the finding that the liposomes constituted of phosphatidylserine and more than equal quantities of phosphatidylcholine did not exhibit hemagglutinating activity.