A critical evaluation of the proposal that serum apolipoproteins are the major constituents of the human erythrocyte membrane.

1. The EDTA and Triton X-100 extracts of human erythrocyte ghosts gave no precipitin lines in double diffusion analyses with antibodies to either lipoprotein A, lipoprotein B, lipoprotein C, lipoprotein D, Lp(a) lipoprotein or arginine-rich apolipoprotein of normal human serum (for nomenclature for serum lipoprotein families and apolipoptoteins, see Alaupovic, P., Kostner, G., Lee, D. M., McConathy, W.J. and Magnani, HN. (1972) Expo. Annu. Biochem. Med. 31, 145-160 and Alaupovic, P., Lee, D.M. and McConathy, W.J., (1972) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 260, 689-707.) These membrane preparations also reacted negatively with commercially available antisera to alpha- and beta-lipoproteins. 2. The normal serum very low density, low density and high density lipoproteins formed no precipitin lines with antibodies to either intact or EDTA-extracted ghosts. 3. The serum apolipoproteins and their constitutive polypeptides (A-I, A-II, B, C-I, C-II, C-III, D and arginine-rich apolipoprotein) reacted negatively with antibodies to intact or EDTA-extracted ghosts. The EDTA and Triton X-100 extracts of erythrocyte ghosts gave no reaction with monospecific antibodies to serum apolipoproteins and their constitutive polypeptides. 4. Ghosts dissolved 2% sodium dodecyl sulfate gave positive immunoprecipitin lines with antisera to alpha- and beta-lipoproteins. However, the sodium dodecyl sulfate solution in concentrations greater than 0.1% also formed precipitin lines with antisera to the same lipoproteins. 5. These results do not support the suggestion (Langdon, R.G. (1974) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 342, 213-228) that serum apolipoptoteins are integral protein constituents of human erythrocyte ghosts. The immunoprecipitin lines observed in the latter study might have been due to the presence of trace amounts of serum lipoproteins loosely attached to the cellular surfaces or, more probably, resulted from nonspecific interactions between the proteins and the sodium dodecyl sulfate used as the solubilizing agent