Variations in WGA-binding proteins in tumours growing in different implantation sites

The protein/glycoprotein composition of Triton X100 extracts of four metastatic tumour lines have been compared by gel electrophoresis after the implantation into different sites of the body. No consistent differences in the patterns were noted after staining with Coomassie Blue or treating with concanavalin A. In contrast, after treating with wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), the patterns varied with site. This was most marked with the ML and M5 tumours, where the overall binding was much lower for some sites. Although WGA binding with the LL and BL6 tumours was generally higher than with the ML and M5, reduced binding was still evident for some sites. Reduced WGA binding was also observed for extracts of secondary tumour growing in the liver or lungs.