Saccharides on teratocarcinoma cell plasma membranes their investigation with radioactively labelled lectins

We have studied the interaction of five lectins differing in their sugar specificity, with the surface of clonal cell lines derived from transplantable murine teratocarcinoma. The results show that the differentiation from primitive embryonal carcinoma cells into parietal yolk sac cells is accompanied by changes in cell surface saccharides. These changes consist of a marked decrease in the total number of binding sites for the l-fucose-specific lectin of Lotus tetragonolobus and a large increase in the total number of binding sites for wax bean agglutinin. It is suggested that these differences can be used as markers in the study of this early embryonic differentiation. No agglutination of primitive embryonal carcinoma cells or of parietal yolk sac cells by low concentrations (10 μg/ml) of concanavalin A, soybean agglutinin or the fucose binding proteins was observed.