QUANTITATIVE DIFFERENCES IN NEOGLYCOPROTEIN BINDING FOR VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL-CELLS FROM PORCINE BRAIN, OVARY, AND TESTIS IN-VITRO

Carrier-immobilized carbohydrates are valuable tools for assessing the glycoligand-binding capacity of cell surfaces. A panel of 10 types of fluorescent neoglycoproteins has been synthesized to determine the ex tent of their specific binding to endothelial cells in vitro that have been obtained from porcine brain, ovary, and testis. Different sugar moieties revealed a nonuniform capacity to bind to the endothelial cel ls as determined by flow cytometric analysis, the histogenetic origin of the preparations being an important factor. Binding of mannose, xyl ose, and glucuronic acid was especially pronounced, but the extent of cell-associated fluorescence was significantly different dependent on the source of the endothelial cells. These results clearly reveal that endothelial cells in vitro display the capacity to specifically recog nize defined carbohydrate moieties. Moreover, endothelial cells of dif ferent tissue origin can exhibit variability in this property, potenti ally endowing this cell type with site-dependent molecular properties. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.