The identification of membrane glycocomponents in polyacrylamide gels: A rapid method using I-labeled lectins

A rapid method is described for the identification of lectin binding membrane glycocomponents in polyacrylamide gels. The method requires only small quantities of membrane material and is applicable to a wide variety of lectins. Solubilized membrane components are electrophoretically separated according to molecular weight in a SDS-polyacrylamide gel. The gel is then incubated in a solution containing the ¹²⁵I-lectin. After elution of unbound ¹²⁵I-lectin, the gel is dried down and those bands which have bound the ¹²⁵I-lectin are identified by radioautography. The amount of bound ¹²⁵I-lectin can be quantified by either densitometric scanning of the radioautogram or by liquid scintillation counting of the dried gel.