Turnover of plasma membrane during phagocytosis.

Levels of radioactive glycine and glycerol incorporated into the plasma membrane of Acanthamoeba castellanii during phagocytosis were determined in order to elucidate how surface membrane expended during this process is replaced. The amoebae were allowed to ingest latex beads in the presence of the labelled membrane precursors and plasma membrane was then isolated and analysed for the presence of radioactivity. The isolated membrane fragments were found to be quite highly labelled. In order to ascertain whether this represented preferential synthesis of plasma membrane in response to phagocytosis, the specific radioactivities of the isolated membrane fractions were compared with those of corresponding particulate homogenates, which were composites of all cellular membranes. Enrichment values calculated in this manner proved to be essentially similar for both phagocytosing and nonphagocytosing amoebae. This indicates that de novo synthesis of plasma membrane is not essential for phagocytosis and in turn suggests that pre-existing cytoplasmic membrane is used to replace surface membrane consumed during ingestion. Presumably the incorporation of membrane precursors that was observed represents molecular turnover that occurs irrespective of phagocytosis.