Identification of liver plasma membrane glycoproteins which bind to 125I-labelled concanavalin A following electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate.

Following electrophoresis of ovalbumin in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) this glycoprotein bound 125I-labelled concanavalin A (Con A). The reaction was specific and proportional to the amount of glycoprotein present on the gel. This technique was used to study the Con-A-binding glycoproteins of liver cell surfaces. Mouse liver plasma membranes were purified and subfractionated to yield two fractions corresponding to the bile canalicular surface and the surface between adjacent hepatocytes (Evans, W.H. (1970) Biochem. J. 116, 833-842). Both fractions bound 125I-labelled Con A, the former binding two to three times more lectin than the latter. Following SDS gel electrophoresis individual membrane glycoproteins reacted with 125I-labelled Con A. Both membrane subfractions yielded qualitatively similar Con A binding profiles, seven binding proteins being present in each. The results are consistent with a generally uniform distribution of glycoproteins over the hepatocyte surface. The reaction of lectins with glycoproteins following SDS gel electrophoresis should find general application in the study of membrane composition.