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-B4 (GS I-B4), specific for alpha-D-galactosyl residues, to Ulex europeus agglutinin I (UEA), specific for alpha-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 alpha-L-fucose to nonreducing terminal alpha-D-galactosyl residues on GS I-B4-binding cell surface glycoproteins. If this were the sole nature of the conversion, the physical properties 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.