Surface Functions during Mitosis in Rat Basophilic Leukemia Cells

At the entry into mitosis, cells abruptly lose membrane activities such as phagocytosis, pinocytosis, and capping. The present studies test if mitotic cells also resist functional responses to cell surface ligand--receptor interactions. The IgE receptors of RBL-2H3 rat basophilic leukemia cells were labeled with anti-dinitrophenol IgE (anti--DNP-IgE) and then cross-linked with multivalent ligands (DNP--bovine serum albumin [BSA]; DNP-B-phycoerythrin; DNP--BSA--gold). IgE--receptor cross-linking modulates cell surface organization and function and releases serotonin and other mediators of allergic and asthmatic reactions from interphase cells. It was found that anti--DNP-IgE-receptor complexes are preserved on the cell surface throughout mitosis; they continue to bind DNP--proteins, and the resulting antigen--IgE--receptor complexes can redistribute to coated pits on the cell surface. Furthermore, there is no loss of [3H] serotonin through mitosis. Nevertheless, antigen-stimulated [3H]-serotonin release is strongly impaired in mitotic-enriched as compared with mixed interphase or G1-enriched cell populations. In addition, antigen binding transforms the surface of interphase cells from a microvillous to a plicated topography and stimulates the uptake of fluorescein isothiocyanate--conjugated dextran by fluid pinocytosis. Mitotic cells maintain a microvillous surface topography after antigen treatment, and fluid pinocytosis virtually ceases from prometaphase to telophase. Phorbol myristate acetate, a tumor promoter that activates protein kinase C, restores surface ruffling activity to mitotic cells. Thus, the mitosis-specific freezing of membrane and secretory responses is most likely due to the failure of transmembrane signaling.