Lateral diffusion of wild-type and mutant Ld antigens in L cells.

We have compared the lateral diffusion of intact transmembrane proteins, wild-type H-2Ld antigens, with that of mutants truncated in the cytoplasmic domain. Diffusion coefficients and mobile fractions were similar for all molecules examined, from wild-type Ld antigens with 31 residues on the cytoplasmic side of the plasma membrane to mutants with only four residues in the cytoplasmic domain. This result limits ways in which the lateral diffusion of a major histocompatibility antigen, a transmembrane protein, can be constrained by interactions with other molecules.