Lectin receptors and lectin resistance in chinese hamster ovary cells.

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells previously selected in a single-step for resistance to one or two different lectins and assigned to individual phenotypic groups on the basis of their unique patterns of lectin resistance, have been examined for their lectin-binding abilites. The lectin-binding parameters of CHO cells were shown to be very complex in a detailes study of the binding of 125I-WGA to wild-type (WT) cells. On the basis of these results, standard assay conditions were established and comparative binding studies between the twenty-two WT and lectin-resistant (LecR) clones were performed. A general correlation of lectin resistance with decreased lectin-binding ability and of lectin sensitivity with increased lectin-binding ability was found, although several exceptions to this trend were observed.