Cell surface fixation of alloantigen bearing plasma vesicles in the presence of polyethylene glycol.
The fixation of plasma vesicles at the surface of intact mouse spleen or tumor cells was studied in order to introduce the foreign alloantigens of the vesicles into the plasma membrane of these cells. A 3-6-fold increase of fixation of radioiodinated vesicles was obtained when cells and vesicles were incubated in the presence of polyethylene glycol 1500 (PEG 1500). The fixation of vesicles on the surface of cells was demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy. Cells treated with vesicles in the presence of PEG acquired the corresponding membrane alloantigens, as demonstrated by cellular binding radioimmunoassay. However, sensitivity to antibody-dependent lysis was obtained only when vesicle fixation was achieved in the presence of both wheat germ agglutinin and polyethylene glycol. The introduction of foreign alloantigens in the plasma membrane of the treated cells might help to define the functional properties of these molecules.