RAPID PURIFICATION OF GLYCOSYL-PHOSPHATIDYLINOSITOL-ANCHORED ALKALINE-PHOSPHATASE FROM HUMAN NEUTROPHILS AFTER UP-REGULATION TO THE CELL-SURFACE

Alkaline phosphatase (APase) belongs to a growing family of membrane-associated proteins tethered to the lipid bilayer via a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. Human neutrophils contain an intracellular pool of APase associated with a novel membrane-bound compartment. Stimulation of neutrophils with the chemotactic peptide formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP) leads to rapid up-regulation of essentially all of the APase to sites in continuity with the extracellular medium. Pre-treatment of neutrophils with cytochalasin B (cyto B) followed by fMLP likewise leads to expression of the enzyme on the cell surface and a dramatic alteration in cell morphology, but subsequent internalization of the plasmalemma is minimized. Pre-treatment with cyto B and fMLP has been used for isolation and purification of neutrophil APase. Specifically, neutrophils were treated with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C to release GPI-anchored proteins from the cell surface. APase was purified from supernatants of these preparations by electrophoresis in a non-denaturing gel system and subsequent electroelution. With this approach we rapidly purified neutrophil APase to homogeneity; this protein was then used for immunization. Immunoblotting, ELISA, and immunocytochemical localization were used to characterize the resulting antibodies.