Effect of 2-deoxy-D-glucose on the cell-surface glycoproteins of hamster fibroblasts,

1. Growth of baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells in medium containing 2-deoxy-D-glucose is retarded in direct proportion of the 2-deoxyglucose concentration. The severity of the effect is reduced in medium containing high relative concentrations of glucose. 2. 2-Deoxyglucose inhibits the incorporation of radioactivity from mannose, galactose, glucosamine, fucose and N-acetylmannosamine precursors into acid-insoluble cellular material. Incorporation of radioactively labelled leucine into protein is not affected by 2-deoxyglucose. 3. BHK cells grown in the presence of 2-deoxyglucose become less sensitive to the toxic action of certain plant lectins, ricin of Ricinus communis and Phaseolus vulgaris phytohaemagglutinin, which bind specifically to cell surface galactose and N-acetyl-galactosamine residues. By contrast, 2-deoxyglucose increased the sensitivity of BHK cells to the weak toxicity of concanavalin A, which binds to surface mannosides. Treated cells also become more agglutinable with concanavalin A. 4. Cell surface glycoprotein labelled by lactoperoxidase-catalysed iodination have been examined by dodecylsulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The radio-iodinated glycoprotein prepared from cells grown in medium containing 2-deoxyglucose migrate more rapidly than glycoproteins from cells grown in the absence of inhibitor.