Failure of in vivo and in vitro resialosylation of VCN-desialylated erythrocytes in mammalian and non-mammalian species: evidence from agglutination studies with peanut-agglutinin.

1. In distinction to mammalian erythrocytes, splitting of sialic acids of non-mammalian erythrocytes (chicken and newt) by Vibrio cholerae neuraminidase (VCN) does not lead to a dramatic decrease in their viability. 2. One of the possibilities to explain this discrepancy is the ability of chicken and newt desialosylated erythrocytes to repair the enzymatic injury. 3. To test this hypothesis we used the property of peanut agglutinin (PNA) to agglutinate desialosylated erythrocytes. 4. Desialosylated erythrocytes of all the species tested remain PNA-agglutinable throughout their whole life time in the blood stream. The absence of effect of VCN on chicken and newt erythrocytes is therefore not due to their resialosylation.