Identification of a novel glycopeptide species that correlates with differentiation of F9 cells.

The high-molecular-weight fucosyl glycopeptides of differentiated F9 cells have been analyzed. We found that these high-molecular-weight surface structures contain two components with different molecular weights, the largest of which, peak I, has never before been reported. The material eluting in this peak seems to contain only acidic species. Removal of sialic acid from both the peak I and the peak II species does not eliminate the differences in molecular weight, indicating that the two species have more profound structural differences than can be accounted for by sialic acid. Since peak I glycopeptides were found both in differentiated F9 cells and in two parietal endoderm cell lines, we suggest that its presence is related to parietal endoderm differentiation.