Mode of interaction between lysozyme and the other proteins of the hen's egg vitelline membrane.

Salt solutions and charged detergents are efficient solubilizing agents for ovovitelline membrane lysozyme. Reassociation experiments with chemically modified lysozymes indicate that positively charged amino acid residues of lysozyme (the epsilon-amino group of lysine and the guanidino group of arginine) are involved in the interaction with other proteins of the vitelline membrane. Exogenous proteins are adsorbed to lysozyme-free vitelline membranes, only if they have a high pI, comparable to that of lysozyme. It is concluded that the lysozyme-ovovitelline membrane interaction is predominantly ionic. An ovomucin-lysozyme complex is postulated as the major component of the outer layer of the membrane.