Developmental and mutational changes of glycoproteins in the mouse neuronal retina: studies with bovine galactosyltransferase.

Bovine galactosyltransferase (lactose synthase; EC 2.4.1.22) which catalyzes the transfer of galactose from UDPgalactose to glycoproteins with N-acetylglucosamine as the terminal residue of their oligosaccharide side chains was used to label glycoproteins of mouse retina with [14C]galactose. The glycoproteins were separated by isoelectric focusing in the first dimension and by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis in the second dimension. Their position on the gel was determined by autofluorography. With this method, quantitative as well as qualitative changes in the glycoprotein composition of the neuronal mouse retina during postnatal development were observed. Furthermore, it was found that the photoreceptor loss in mice with retinal degeneration was paralleled by the disappearance of certain glycoprotein bands.