Differential binding of fluorescein-labeled lectins to mouse thymocytes: subsets revealed by flow microfluorometry.

Fluorescein-labeled lectins bound to mouse thymocytes were analyzed by flow microfluorometry. This technique has identified several lectins that bind differentially to thymocyte subsets. The most complex fluorescence distributions were obtained using lectins with nominal specificities for galactose or N-acetylglucosamine. Inhibition of binding by sugars confirmed that the fluoresceinated lectins were bound to cells at their carbohydrate binding site. Simultaneous analyses of lectin fluorescence and forward light scatter intensity showed that cell subpopulations of different sizes can exhibit marked differences in the level of binding such that the amount of lectin bound per cell is often independent of cell size. A minor population of dull or unstained cells, delineated by several of these lectins, correlates with the subpopulation of medium-sized thymocytes resistant to in vivo cortisone treatment.