Structural and functional differences between decay-accelerating factor and red cell acetylcholinesterase.

The abnormal erythrocytes in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, both PNH II (the moderately abnormal cells) and PNH III (the markedly abnormal cells), lack both acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity and decay-accelerating factor (DAF) activity. Both of these activities are found on glycoprotein molecules with a molecular weight of about 70 Kd. To demonstrate that these two activities are in fact on different proteins, we have shown that binding to normal red cells of antibody to DAF does not inhibit the subsequent binding of monoclonal antibody to AChE nor AChE activity. Inhibition of DAF activity by polyclonal antibody increases the susceptibility of normal erythrocytes to lysis by complement but inhibition of AChE activity by antibody does not. The rate of decay of the C3 convertase complex of the classical pathway of complement activation was inhibited by DAF added in the fluid phase but not by AChE. When DAF was exhaustively immunoprecipitated from a solution of the erythrocyte membrane proteins, AChE remained and vice versa. These studies indicate that acetylcholinesterase and decay-accelerating factor are two different proteins, both of which are lacking on PNH II and PNH III erythrocytes.