An approach to the assessment of membrane stability of cultured cells.

A simple method for assessing the combined stability of the plasma and lysosomal membranes of cultured cells is described. Monolayers of normal, human glial cells were incubated in situ in an isotonic, buffered sucrose solution (pH 5.0) containing the acid phosphatase (AP) enzyme substrate p-nitrophenyl phosphate (PNPP). The rate of appearance, in the solution, of the reaction product p-nitrophenol (PNP) was measured spectrophotometrically, curves then plotted, and fitted by computer. "Lag time" (LT) was calculated, and an index of membrane lability constructed, termed "fragility index" (FI). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), "vital" staining of the cells with fluorescein diacetate (FDA) and Evans Blue (EB), and use of a Gomori-type cytochemical technique, indicate that the data reflects the combined stability of lysosomal and plasma membranes. The latter playing the more critical role. Cell cultures pre-incubated with various membrane labilizing or stabilizing agents were compared. Control, 0.3 M sucrose, and normal saline treated cells demonstrated similar stability. Distilled water decreased AP latency (increased fragility), and the magnitude of this effect was time dependent. Cells fixed in glutaraldehyde (GA) retained much of their osmotic reactivity, as confirmed by distilled water treatment. Oxygen derived free radicals caused pronounced fragility, while dexamethasone, a membrane stabilizing agent, decreased membrane fragility. Triton X-100 abolished latency completely, and total AP activity was very rapidly recovered outside the cells in the surrounding incubation medium. These results suggest this technique yields a measure of membrane stability which is sensitive enough to differentiate between known stabilizers and labilizers of membranes. Hence, this may prove an easy and useful aid for the assessment of how various substances and environments modulate the lysosomal and plasma membrane stability of cultured cells.