Carbohydrate antigens recognized by anti-horseradish peroxidase antiserum are expressed on mammalian cells

Antiserum raised against horseradish peroxidase (HRP) recognizes neural specific carbohydrate antigens in Drosophila and other insects. The occurrence of the antigens in mammalian cells was investigated. Proteins were extracted from rat pheochromocytoma cells, PC12, and various tissue of rat and bovine origin, and further purified by successive chromatography with Con A-Sepharose and anti-HRP glycopeptide antibody-Sepharose. The proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE and subjected to immunoblot analysis of the antigens. When the Con A- and antibody-Sepharose bound fractions were examined, four glycoproteins with carbohydrate antigens recognized by anti-HRP antiserum were identified in all the tissue. They are low molecular weight glycoproteins that are not membrane-bound. We demonstrated that the carbohydrate antigens recognized by the anti-HRP antibodies are not confined to insects but are expressed on mammalian cells in several tissue.