Contact-dependent regulation of growth of diploid human fibroblasts is dependent upon the presence of terminal galactose residues on plasma membrane glycoproteins.

The growth of diploid human fibroblasts has previously been shown to be regulated mainly by the extent of cell-cell contacts [R. J. Wieser and F. Oesch (1986) J. Cell Biol. 103, 361], these contacts being effective only when terminal, beta-glycosidically linked galactose residues were present on plasma membrane glycoproteins. These studies, in which a high cell density in sparse cell cultures has been mimicked by the addition of immobilized plasma membrane glycoproteins, have been further extended to investigate the role of terminal galactose residues directly in cell cultures. The studies presented herein show that (i) culturing human fibroblasts in the presence of beta-galactosidase resulted in an approximately twofold higher saturation density, as well as a twofold higher proliferation rate at high cell densities when compared to the rates found in control cultures. (ii) The presence of alpha-lactalbumin in the culture medium, which acts as a modifier of the activity of galactosyltransferase, had the same effect as beta-galactosidase. (iii) Addition of the lectin I from Bandeiraea simplicifolia (BS I), which is specific for terminal galactose residues, resulted in an increase in the proliferation rate of cell cultures at high cell densities, while the proliferation was not affected at low cell densities. These data show that the presence of terminal, beta-glycosidically linked galactose is vital for the efficient growth control of normal cells.