[Study of membrane glycoproteins of human erythrocytes using lectins]

A method to study the glycoprotein composition of cell membranes, in particular of human red blood cells, has been developed. It includes the separation of membrane components by the SDS-polyacrylamide gradient slab gel electrophoresis, electroblotting of the phoretograms onto the nitrocellulose sheets and detection of glycoprotein fractions with FITC and peroxidase labeled lectins. PNA detected asialoglycoproteins with O-linked oligosaccharide chains, corresponding to all the PAS-positive bands of the phoretogram. SBA interacted more selectively and revealed only certain PAS-positive bands. Glycoproteins with N-linked carbohydrate chains were PAS-negative and can be identified only by the interaction with WGA, LCL, RCA. Group-specific agglutinins have shown that the ABO antigenic determinants are located in N-linked carbohydrate chains of membrane glycoproteins.