The carbohydrates associated with the surfaces of hamster alveolar macrophages: a study using fluorescein-conjugated lectins.

Alveolar macrophages were isolated from the lungs of hamsters by lavage and centrifugation. The harvesting procedure yielded about 5.2 X 10(6) cells per animal and the majority of these cells were viable as assessed by a Trypan blue exclusion test. Monolayers of macrophages were labelled with a series of FITC-conjugated lectins. The results of this study suggest that the surface coating of the alveolar macrophages contains the following carbohydrate groups: N-acetylgalactosamine, N-acetylglucosamine, D-glucose, D-mannose, L-fucose and sialic acid.