Maintenance of Quantity and Density of Membrane Glycochains in Diploid-Tetraploid and Tetraploid-Octaploid Transitions, Respectively of Meth-A Cells Demonstrated by Lectin Binding

Abstract

The cell-surface glycochains of polyploid Meth-A cells were examined by flow cytometry (FCM). To examine possible changes in the expression of cell-surface oligosaccharides in polyploid cells, the lectin binding of diploid, tetraploid and octaploid Meth-A cells was compared. The tetraploid and octaploid Meth-A cells were established from highly polyploidized diploid and tetraploid cells, respectively. These cells were stained with the following FITC-labeled lectins: wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), concanavalin A (Con A), ricinus communis agglutinin I (RCA₁₂₀), ulex europeaus agglutinin I (UEA-I), peanut agglutinin (PNA), soybean agglutinin (SBA) and dolichos bifluorous agglutinin (DBA), and the fluorescence of the cells was measured by FCM. The lectin binding of tetraploid Meth-A cells was almost the same with that of diploid cells, while the binding of octaploid Meth-A cells was proportional to the deductive area of the cell surface, except in the cases of RCA₁₂₀ and SBA. It was concluded that the content of cell-surface hydrocarbon chains was maintained during the diploid-tetraploid transition, while it increased in proportional to the cell surface area during the tetraploid-octaploid transition.