Dynamic changes of cell-surface glycoconjugates in human palmar epidermis following friction-blisters

Damage and repair of cell-surface glycoconjugates were examined in human palmar skin following friction-blister injury, using biotinylated lectins and the avidin-biotin complex method. In normal skin, concanavalin A, Ricinus communis, and Triticum vulgaris bound to the surface of cells from the basal layer to the granular layer. After injury, binding of concanavalin A was absent in the plasma membrane, but appeared in the cytoplasm at perinuclear sites. The surface reaction was recovered in basal and spinous cells, but not in granular cells, when cell maturation began at 5 days after injury. In contrast, binding of Ricinus communis and Triticum vulgaris was, in general, much more resistant to tissue damage. Even in some cells, where the surface staining became obscure at an early period, a normal staining pattern reappeared by 6 h after injury. Staining of Ulex europeus I and Glycine max, detected on the surface of upper spinous and granular cells in normal skin, disappeared immediately after the injury, but recovered quickly on the surfaces of the differentiated cells. These findings suggest that at least 2 oligosaccharide sequences, one binding with concanavalin A, and the other with Ricinus communis and Triticum vulgaris, may exist on epidermal cells. Addition of terminal carbohydrates, detectable with binding of Ulex europeus I and Glycine max, appears to occur on the Ricinus communis I and Triticum vulgaris-bound oligosaccharide chain.