Cell surface changes during myoblast differentiation: preparation and carbohydrate composition of plasma membranes

A technique for the preparation of plasma membrane from a skeletal muscle myogenic cell culture is described. Electron microscopic and enzymatic studies indicate that the preparation has kept its morphological integrity and has negligeable amount of cellular contiaminants. Carbohydrate composition studies have shown that the differentiated cells contain less hexosamine and sialic acid but accumulate glucose and galactose; the latter increase reflects the presence of a glucose-galactose-hydroxylysine unit which appears at the cell surface when myoblasts reach confluency.