Agglutination of isolated rod outer segments by lectins.

The interactions of ten lectins with rod outer segment (ROS) plasma membranes and the effects of various haptene sugars were examined by studying agglutination in suspensions of washed ROSs. It is concluded that agglutination sites on the ROS membrane involve receptors that are recognized by eight lectins with haptene sugar preferences that include D-Gal, D-GalNAc, D-Man, and D-GlcNAc. Lectins binding alpha-L-fucose do not induce agglutination. The identification of some receptors and the significance of these results in terms of the known complexities of lectin specificities is discussed.