Endogenous lectins of bovine pancreas

Isolation and immunochemical study of a soluble cerebellar lectin delineating its structure and function

A procedure of sequential extractions of cerebellar tissue was set up, which allowed specific solubilization of endogenous lectins by mannose. Two cerebellar soluble lectins, CSL1 (Mr = 33,000) and CSL2 (Mr = 31,500), were isolated. They appeared to consist of structurally and immunologically related polypeptides chains. By immunoaffinity, another minor component (Mr = 45,000) was isolated. Immunological studies suggested that the minor component is the precursor of the two other, i.e., CSL1 and CSL2, subunits. CSL1 (mainly lysosomal) possesses an additional peptide compared with CSL2 (mainly cytoplasmic and extracellular), which seems to be implicated in the signal for secretion and release.

Carbohydrate-binding proteins of tumor lines with different growth properties. II. Changes in their pattern in clones of transformed rat fibroblasts of differing metastatic potential

A tumor model system of clones of myeloproliferative sarcoma virus (MPV)-transformed rat fibroblasts (NRK) with different growth properties and metastatic potential was studied. The relationship between metastatic behavior and composition of carbohydrate-binding proteins (lectins) was analyzed by affinity chromatography. The metastatic variant differs qualitatively from its parental clone in the presence of galactoside-binding proteins at apparent molecular weight of 42 kDa. The alpha-glucosyl-binding proteins at apparent molecular weights of 67 kDa and 53 kDa and a galactoside-binding protein of apparent molecular weight of 34 kDa, however, are not detectable in the metastatic variant in comparison to its parental clone. In this respect the parental clone shows closer resemblance to the clone 5-8#1 with different growth properties and low metastatic potential than to its own metastatic variant. Furthermore, only the parental clone has a melibiose- and a mannan-binding protein of an apparent molecular weight of 64 kDa and 14 kDa, respectively. Rosette formation as model system for intercellular interaction reveals differences in the inhibition pattern with sugar between the two clones 5-8#1 and 5-20#20, whereas the metastatic variant 5-20#20 (s) exhibits drastically reduced capability to form rosettes. Initial experiments demonstrate the feasibility of drug targeting to transformed fibroblasts via carbohydrate-binding proteins.

Carbohydrate-binding proteins of tumor lines with different growth properties. I. Differences in their pattern for three clones of rat fibroblasts transformed with a myeloproliferative sarcoma virus

Three clones of myeloproliferative virus (MPV)-transformed rat fibroblasts (NRK) with different growth properties and morphology were transplanted to athymic nude mice. Presence of carbohydrate-binding proteins was inferred by fluorescence microscopy using fluorescent, glycosylated markers. Salt and detergent extracts of tumors from this model system were fractionated under identical conditions on different sets of Sepharose columns, to which lactose, asialofetuin, melibiose, mannan and fucose had been covalently linked. Successive elution by chelating reagent and specific sugar resulted in isolation of the different Ca2+ -dependent and Ca2+ -independent endogenous carbohydrate-binding proteins that were assayable as agglutinins. In comparison, the different tumors displayed a pattern with qualitative and quantitative alterations. Since protein-carbohydrate interaction mediated by carbohydrate-binding proteins (lectins) is of importance for cognitive processes, it is remarkable that the pattern of membrane glycoproteins, isolated by affinity chromatography on resins with immobilized plant lectins, had also been found to reveal certain individual properties for receptors specific for peanut agglutinin (PNA) and Ulex europaeus agglutinin (UEA). These demonstrated differences within the system of protein-carbohydrate interaction suggest that endogenous lectins and their ligands have potential significance as markers defining a certain phenotype within this tumor model system.