Transbilayer mapping of membrane proteins using membranes isolated on polylysine-coated polyacrylamide beads

Erythrocyte and HeLa cell plasma membranes were isolated on polylysine-coated polyacrylamide beads and the transbilayer disposition of their proteins was investigated. When membranes of intact erythrocytes were isolated on beads and then labelled by lactoperoxidase-catalysed iodination, their labelling pattern was similar to that of inside-out vesicles in solution. When the membranes of intact HeLa cells were isolated on beads and then labelled by galactose oxidase-[3H]borohydride treatment, no glycoprotein or glycolipid sugars were accessible. On the other hand, when the HeLa cell membranes were isolated on beads and then labelled by the lactoperoxidase-catalysed iodination, all of the major membrane proteins were iodinated. These experiments confirmed for HeLa cell membranes what had previously been shown for erythrocyte membranes: when the membranes of intact cells are isolated on beads, the accessibility of their surfaces to enzymatic probes is the same as would be expected of inside-out vesicles in suspension. Double-label experiments, in which the HeLa cell membranes were labelled first on the intact HeLa cells and again after isolation on beads, identified several proteins which may span the membrane.