Surface carbohydrate composition of different types of chicken lymphocytes

A simple and quick procedure was used to analyse the carbohydrate composition of surface glycoproteins from chicken lymphocytes. The procedure included papain digestion of the cells, a two-step purification of the supernatant material and a sugar analysis by gaschromatography. The method made it possible to analyse samples of about 10(9) lymphocytes. The surface glycoproteins from different chicken lymphocyte preparations were found to differ significantly in their sugar composition. Lymphocytes from thymus, bursa, spleen or blood were characterized by typical relative amounts of glucose, galactosamine, fucose and sialic acid. The values for mannose, glucosamine and galactose, however, were approximately 1:1:1 for all four lymphocyte preparations. Bursectomy or thymectomy in combination with whole body irradiation altered the carbohydrate composition significantly. The results suggest the possibility that the carbohydrate composition can be used as a marker for different lymphocyte populations. The results are also discussed in respect to the hypothesis that carbohydrate determinants on the cell surface determine the migration of lymphocytes.