Erythroid cell RNase: activation by urea and localization to the cell membrane.

Assays of ribonuclease activity in components of mature and immature mammalian erythroid cells indicate that RNase activity is present both in the membrane-free hemolysate and the washed membranes. Erythroid cell RNase exists in an active and latent form. The majority of total cell RNase activity is in the latent state, and is localized to the erythroid cell membrane. Both total and latent RNase activity decline as the cell matures. The latent RNase is released from its relatively firm attachment to the cell membrane and activated by centrifugation or, optimally, by exposure to 4 M urea. The active sites of membrane-associated RNase are apparently oriented toward the inner side of the cell membrane. The properties of the latent membrane-bound RNase which is activated by urea, including K(m), pH optimum, inhibition of enzyme activity by cations, and response to metabolic inhibitors, do not differ significantly from those of the soluble RNase in the membrane-free hemolysate, suggesting that there is only one type of RNase in the erythroid cell. Binding of Rnase to the erythroid cell membrane stabilized the enzyme against inactivation during incubation at 37 degrees C, and the findings suggest that membrane-bound RNase may play a particular part in degrading ribosomes. The findings indicate that the cell membrane has a major role in RNA metabolism in the maturing mammalian erythroid cell.