Although many cells anchor
surface proteins via moieties that are sensitive to
phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC), the anchor moieties of
surface proteins of mouse L929 cells resist PI-PLC. By constructing stable hybrids between L929 and
lymphoma cells that express glycolipid-anchored
proteins in a PI-PLC-sensitive form, we show that PI-PLC resistance behaves as a recessive trait. Since putative
mannolipid precursors of the lipid anchors bear
alkali-labile substituents which make them resist PI-PLC, these observations are most simply interpreted by postulating that L929 lacks a critical anchor deacylase. Unlike the L929 cell line, two of its descendants, the LM cell line and its
thymidine kinase-negative variant (LM-TK-), do not express glycolipid-anchored
proteins on their surface. Moreover, unlike L929 cells, LM-TK- cells rapidly inactivate at least one lipid-anchored enzyme in a compartment sensitive to acidotropic
amines and
leupeptin. By fusion of LM-TK- cells to mouse Thy-1-
lymphoma mutants and monitoring of surface expression of
lipid-anchored proteins, we assign LM-TK- to
lymphoma mutant complementation group H. This genetic assignment is matched by analysis of mannolipids of L929, LM-TK-, wild-type, and class H
lymphoma mutant cells: striking similarities are seen between the two wild-type cells by contrast to the mutants. Since the differences pertain to
lipids which have properties consistent with their being anchor precursors, we suggest that LM-TK- has a lesion in the synthesis of anchor precursor mannolipids.