BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS Pages 269-276 PRELIMINARY CHARACTERIZATION OF CELL SURFACE GLYCOPROTEINS ASSOCIATED WITH EPIDERMAL DIFFERENTIATION IN THE NEWBORN RAT

The cell surface of the newborn rat epidermis exhibits a discrete change in lectin-binding specificity from Griffonia simplicifolia I-B for a-D-galactosyl residues, to Ulex europeus agglutinin I 4 (GS I-B4). specific UEA), specific for a-L-fucose, as the cell leaves the basal layer and differentiates. It has been postulated that this change is a result of the addition of a-L-fucose to non-reducing terminal a-D-galactosyl residues on CS I-B4-binding cell surface glyco-proteins. If this were the sole nature of the conversion, the physical proper-ties of isolated GS I-B4- and UEA-bound glycoproteins should not differ greatly. UEA and GS I-B4-binding glycoproteins isolated from newborn rat epidermis have similar charge properties and are similar in the nature of their carbohydrate moieties, supporting the proposed hypothesis. D 1985 Academic Press, Inc. The surface of cells in the newborn rat epidermis exhibits a discrete change in lectin binding specificity as the cell leaves the basal layer an