Ganglioside-cholera toxin interactions: a binding and lipid monolayer study.

On t.l.c. plates 125I-cholera toxin binds to a disialoganglioside tentatively identified as GD1b with about 10 times less capacity then to ganglioside GM1. Binding of labeled toxin to both gangliosides was abolished in presence of excess amounts of unlabeled B subunit. Ganglioside extracts from human or pig intestinal mucosa showed toxin binding to gangliosides GM1 and GD1b. In ganglioside-containing lipid monolayers the penetration of the toxin was independent of the ganglioside binding capacity.