CD95 (Fas/APO-1) induces an increased phosphatidylserine synthesis that precedes its externalization during programmed cell death.

CD95 (Fas, APO-1)-induced programmed cell death (apoptosis) in T cell lines is accompanied by a rapid flip-flop of phosphatidylserine (PtdSer). Externalization of this phospholipid has been previously recognized as one of the early detectable events of cells undergoing apoptosis. We show here that CD95 induces a rapid (detectable at time < 15 min), strong (2.5-fold) but transitory neosynthesis of PtdSer in the Jurkat cell line that precedes its externalization. PtdSer decarboxylation, a mitochondrial specific process, was strongly inhibited by CD95 suggesting that changes in mitochondrial activity take place in the early events of Fas-induced apoptosis and participate in the increased PtdSer synthesis observed. In cells undergoing apoptosis, newly synthesized PtdSer first exposed at the cell surface was in part shed with CD95-induced plasma membrane vesicles, a process that likely explains the transitory effect observed.