The use of palmitate-conjugated protein A for coating cells with artificial receptors which facilitate intercellular interactions.

A method is described in which palmitate-conjugated protein A (pal-protein A) incorporated onto cell membranes is used to anchor antibodies on the surface of cells. Pal-protein A was stabilized on the cell surfaces via insertion of the hydrophobic palmitate moieties into the phospholipid bilayer of the plasma membrane. This membrane-associated pal-protein A retained its binding affinity for the Fc region of rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) molecules. Using this system, cells can be coated with antibody (Ab) molecules of a desired specificity that can serve as artificial receptors for soluble or cell surface antigens (Ags). In this report, we show that A22.E10 T hybridoma cells coated with rabbit anti-mouse IgG (RaMIgG) exhibited increased adhesiveness to surface IgG positive mouse B cells. A high level of heterotypic intercellular conjugation was observed in cells coated with specific artificial receptors as compared to cells coated with nonspecific artificial receptors.