Phospholipases A1 and A2 of rat liver plasma membranes; mechanism of action.

While V/S plots of phospholipase A1 show a phase transition, kinetic behaviour of phospholipase A2 acting in the same concentration range is hyperbolic. However after phospholipase A2 has been solubilized from the plasma membranes by 1 M NaCl, the V/S curve shows a phase transition. Membrane-bound phospholipase A1 shows a narrow optimum pH at 8.5 -9, while phospholipase A2 activity presents only small variations between pH 7 and 9.5. Towards exogenous phospholipids at the optimum pH 8.5 of phospholipase A1, the specific activity of the latter is 3-fold higher than phospholipase A2 specific activity. On the contrary towards endogenous phospholipids, phospolipase A2 activity is higher than phospholipase A2 activity. Moreover labeled endogenous PE hydrolysis by phospholipase A2 is decreased by addition of non labeled exogenous PE into the incubation medium. All these data suggest that the active site of phospholipase A1 is turned to the outside and acts only on exogenous substrates: for phospholipase A2 it would be inside, and exogenous phospholipids could be hydrolyzed only after penetrating the membrane.