Surface labeling of membrane glycoproteins and their drastic changes during development of Dictyostelium discoideum

Surface glycoproteins on plasma membranes from Dictyostelium discoideum were labeled by sodium metaperiodate oxidation and sodium boro[3H]hydride reduction. The amount of incorporation of tritium from NaB3H4 reached a plateau after 10 min at a periodate concentration of 20 mM. The density analysis carried out by sucrose density-gradient centrifugation showed that the plasma membranes were selectively labeled by this technique. About 84% of the radioactivity incorporated was released by hydrolysis with 0.25 M H2SO4 for 3 h at 100 degrees C. The released materials were eluted at a bed volume after chromatography using a Sephadex G-50 column. From the paper chromatographic analysis of the eluate, four radioactive spots were detected. Two of them were glycerol and glyceraldehyde and the other two spots seemed to be oligosaccharides. Using the above method, the plasma membranes from aggregation-phase cells were labeled four times more than those from growth-phase cells. The labeled plasma membrane fraction during the aggregation phase was separated into at least 39 distinct glycoprotein bands on a one-dimensional dodecylsulfate/polyacrylamide gel. Six of the 39 bands increased markedly in density and two new bands appeared. In contrast, four bands decreased in density in the aggregation phase. Using this method, the surface glycoproteins can be analyzed directly be gel electrophoresis of the lysate of labeled whole cells without preparing the plasma membranes. Changes during development of glycoproteins on outer cell surfaces were also confirmed by O'Farrell's method of two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Utilizing this technique, glycoproteins on plasma membranes of D. discoideum were separated into 63 individual spots; 45 of these 63 spots changed during the early developmental course of D. discoideum. This is in contrast to the slight change in the soluble and membrane proteins during this phase. This fact also suggests that the glycoproteins have important roles in the process of aggregation.