Alteration in the membrane fatty acid composition of human lymphocytes and cultured transformed cells induced by interferon.

The effects of interferon (IFN) treatment on the lipid composition of human peripheral blood lymphocytes or transformed cell line cells were investigated. The major phospholipid classes of lymphocytes as analyzed by 2-dimensional TLC and quantified by phosphorous content were phosphatidylcholine (PC, 43%) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE, 28%), along with phosphatidylserine (9%) and phosphatidylinositol (8%). The membrane-impermeant reagent, trinitrobenzenesulfonate was used to covalently label cell surface PE. Fatty acid (FA) composition, determined by gas-liquid chromatography, showed a distinct pattern in each lipid class, with a predominance of 16 and 18 carbon fatty acids (FA) in PC and PE respectively. Arachidonic acid (20:4) and, to a lesser extent, docosahexanoic acid (22:6) were predominant in PE. The degree of unsaturation in each class, expressed as the ratio between unsaturated and saturated FA (U/S), was higher in PE (1.72) than in derivatized trinitrophenyl cell surface PE (TNP-PE, 0.57) or PC (0.64). Treatment with IFN resulted in an increased U/S ratio in cell surface PE (1.10) but not in other PE species (1.46). A small increase in unsaturation (0.88) was also observed in PC. Most of the increase in TNP-PE U/S was accounted for by an increase in 20:4 and a concomitant decrease in 18:0. These alterations were observed in the absence of quantitative change in the principal phospholipid classes or in the FA composition of the total lipid extract. In K562, a transformed cell line with characteristics of the erythromyeloid lineage, PE was found to be the most saturated lipid class with a predominance of 18:0. In PC, 16:0 was most abundant. Among unsaturated FA, 18:1 predominated in all lipid classes studied. Treatment with natural IFN alpha for 30 hr generally resulted in a decrease in saturated FA and an increase in unsaturated FA, which was most marked in PE. The U/S ratio in PE was highest in K562 cells during the time of maximal cell proliferation as assessed by tritiated thymidine incorporation. TNP-PE simultaneously decreased. Daudi cells, a B-lymphoblastoid cell line, demonstrated changes in FA composition of lipids with decreased saturated and monoenoic FA after IFN treatment, whereas DIF3 (a clone selected for lack of sensitivity to IFN) showed no change. These studies document changes in membrane FA composition of lymphocytes treated with IFN and correlate IFN-induced changes in transformed cell line FA with effects on proliferation. They further show the existence of a transverse molecular species asymmetry of PE in the plasma membrane of these cells which is altered after IFN treatment.