Abstract
There is a growing interest in the application of cell fusion in various fields of modern bioiogy. Besides viruses, some chemicals are also effective in causing biological membranes to fuse. Among the most potent fusogens of this type appear to be polymers of ethylene glycol. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) has been used to fuse a great variety of cell types [l-3]. The wide applications of PEG-induced cell fusion stimulate research on the mechanism by which the polymer interacts with biological membranes. Most of the studies performed have been focussed on the effect of PEG on the organization of membrane phospholipids [4131. The molecular mechanism of PEG-membrane interaction and the sequence of events leading to cell fusion remain, however, not fully understood. Particularly little is known about the effect of PEG on the physica state of membrane proteins. Spin labels used in this study, 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-maleimidopiperidine-I-oxyl (MSL) and 5-doxylstearic acid, were obtained from Syva (Palo Alto CA). Chromatographically pure egg yolk phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol were from Sigma (St Louis MO). Polyethylene glycol A4,6000 (PEG 6000) was supplied by Loba (Vienna). Human erythrocyte ghost membranes were prepared as in [14]. Protein spin-labeling with MSL and lipid spin-labeling with S-doxylstearic acid were performed as in [15].
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