Adhesion of cultured fibroblasts to insoluble analogues of cell-surface carbohydrates.

Animal cells are coated with complex carbohydrates. Insoluble analogues of these substances were prepared by coupling monosaccharides to Sephadex beads (crosslinked dextran), and the interactions between these derivatives and three established cell lines were studied. A virally transformed fibroblast, simian virus 40-transformed 3T3 cells, adhered to the beads derivatized with D-galactose, but did not adhere to the corresponding beads derivatized with D-glucose or N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. Cells that adhered to the galactose-beads appeared to initiate a nucleation process in that they became more adhesive towards the cells in suspension, leading to the formation of large aggregates containing both cells and galactose-beads. The results suggest that specific carbohydrates are involved in the processes of cell recognition or cell adhesion, or both.