Preferential incorporation of fatty acids at the inside of human erythrocyte membranes

Abstract

1. 1.Phospholipase A2 isolated from Naja naja venom was used as a tool to discriminate between the outer and inner lipid monolayer of the membranes of human erythrocytes.

2. 2.Incubation of human erythorcytes with radioactive fatty acids resulted in the formation of labelled lecithin in the membrane. The label was found predominantly in that pool of lecithin which is localized in the inner monolayer of the membrane.

3. 3.Lecithins isolated from the total erythrocyte membrane and from the inner monolayer of the membrane possess identical fatty acid patterns and identical positional distributions of their fatty acyl constituents.