Effect of chemical deglycosylation on the in vivo fate of ricin A-chain.

Chemical deglycosylation of ricin A-chain virtually eliminated its entrapment by the liver and delayed its clearance from the bloodstream of mice. Liver entrapment of native ricin A-chain occurred to approximately equal extents in the parenchymal and non-parenchymal cell fractions of the liver. The chemical deglycosylation procedure reduced uptake of the A-chain by both cell fractions.