Enzymatic characterization and analytical fractionation of L1210 cells

The enzymatic characterization and analytical fractionation of L1210 cells have been performed in view of studying the cellular pharmacology of antitumoral drugs. Several enzymatic activities were detected and their assay conditions optimized. After a gentle homogenization to preserve as much as possible the integrity of the nucleus and cytoplasmic organelles, homogenates were fractionated by differential and isopycnic centrifugation. On the basis of pH dependency, effect of detergents and distributions after cell fractionation, enzymatic activities and biochemical constituents can be classified in several groups and by analogy to other organs or cultured cells, attributed to distinct cellular components. N-Acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase, alpha-L-fucosidase, alpha-D-mannosidase detected at acid pH and cathepsin D are therefore proposed as markers of lysosomes; inosine diphosphatase and uridine monophosphatase as markers of the plasma membrane, while phosphoglucomutase and neutral pyrophosphatase on one hand and galactosyl transferase and alpha-D-mannosidase at pH 6.0 on the other hand are attributed respectively to the cytosol and the Golgi apparatus.