Interaction of soybean agglutinin with human leukemia-lymphoma lines at various stages of differentiation.

Human leukemia-lymphoma cell lines reflecting hematopoietic clones at various stages of differentiation were examined for reactivity with soybean agglutinin (SBA). The binding and redistribution pattern of soybean surface receptors was determined with fluorescein-isothiocyanate conjugated SBA (F-SBA) by ultraviolet microscopy, and with a fluorescent activated cell sorter (FACS). The results indicate that there is a correlation between SBA labelling--distribution and the stage of lymphoid cell differentiation. The SBA labelling on the membrane of null lines was undetectable by U.V. microscopy and flow cytometry. A gradual increase in SBA labelling correlating with the stage of differentiation was observed on cell lines of both B and T origin. However the maximal fluorescence intensity of the T lines was lower than the B lines. The redistribution pattern of SBA on the membrane of T lines was rings and mild patches, whereas that on the B lines was moderate to large patches. The reactivity of the lymphoid lines with SBA was not affected by growth conditions. The binding of SBA to normal lymphoblastoid lines was generally low and the fluorescence intensity weak. The reactivity of these lines with SBA was not associated with their origin or "age". It is suggested that the differences in the reactivity of SBA with human hematopoietic lines at various stages of maturation may be of value in future understanding the differences in structure and function of the surface membrane between normal and malignant cells, and the relation to normal and abnormal cell differentiation.