A novel cyclosporine binding assay.

The binding of [3H]cyclosporine A (CsA) to BALB/c mouse spleen cells was examined with a novel centrifugation assay which rapidly removes free [3H]CsA from cell surfaces with a minimal loss of low affinity specifically bound [3H]CsA. A single class of specific and saturable CsA binding sites was found under equilibrium binding conditions. Scatchard analysis of the data resulted in a straight line with KD and Bmax values of 95 nM and 2.4 million binding sites/cell, respectively. Kinetic studies conducted with a wider range of [3H]CsA concentrations revealed two distinct binding sites, with KD's of 290 nM and 9.6 microM, respectively. [3H]CsA bound only nonspecifically to phosphatidylcholine:cholesterol liposomes. Specific [3H]CsA binding sites were found in murine WEHI-5 B-lymphoma cells, murine N1E-115 neuroblastoma cells and human A204 rhabdosarcoma cells. We conclude from these results that there are at least two nonlipid CsA binding sites in BALB/c mouse spleen cells and that CsA binding sites are present in both lymphoid and nonlymphoid tissue.