Isolation of surface lectins of GH3 cells from whole cells and isolated plasma membranes.

Lectins localized in the plasma membranes seem to be of special importance for the intercellular interaction mechanisms. We describe the isolation of mannose-binding proteins by Triton X-100 extraction and affinity chromatography on agarose-bound mannose. The isolation procedure was performed with whole GH3 cells as well as with isolated plasma membranes. For the isolation of plasma membranes of GH3 cells a mechanical pump was used for the disruption. After differential centrifugation an enriched plasma membrane fraction was achieved by discontinuous sucrose gradient centrifugation. The whole fractionation procedure was controlled by total balance sheets for the marker enzymes of the different cell organelles. The plasma membrane fraction was further characterized by gel electrophoresis and electron microscopy. The SDS gel electrophoresis patterns of the proteins, resulting from the Triton X-100 extraction and the affinity chromatography, are nearly identical for whole cells as well as for the enriched plasma membrane fraction. Therefore we presume these mannose-specific proteins to be plasma membrane bound, showing the molecular properties of integral proteins and having a molecular weight of Mr 67 000, 57 000, 47 000.