Preferential binding of the epidermal growth factor receptor to ganglioside GM3 coated plates

Ganglioside GM3 has been shown to modulate epidermal growth factor receptor function. These observations have lead to the hypothesis that GM3 may bind to the epidermal growth factor receptor. An enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay was designed to test this hypothesis. In these experiments, receptor-rich vesicle preparations were incubated with ganglioside GM1 or GM3 coated 96-well microtiter plates and the amount of bound receptor was compared. Plates coated with GM3 consistently bound more epidermal growth factor receptor than did GM1 coated plates. The binding of epidermal growth factor receptors to GM3 coated wells appeared to be specific and saturable. These results suggest that GM3 may modulate epidermal growth factor receptor function owing to a specific association of the two molecules.