Modulation of EGF binding and action by succinylated concanavalin A in fibroblast cell cultures

The role of the binding of succinylated concanavalin A to tissue culture cells in influencing epidermal growth factor (EGF)-mediated cell proliferation has been studied. Succinylated concanavalin A dramatically reduces the stimulation of 3T6 cells by EGF in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DME) containing insulin and vitamin B12 as additional growth factors, but no serum. Furthermore, binding studies using 125I-labeled EGF have shown that the binding of EGF to the cell surface is reduced upon addition of succinylated concanavalin A.