EFFECTS OF N-3554S, A POLYPRENYL PHOSPHATE, ON B16-F10 MOUSE MELANOMA-CELLS

N-3554S, an optically active S-isomer of alpha-dihydrodecaprenyl phosp hate, reduced the tumorigenicity of cultured B16-F10 mouse melanoma ce lls probably by affecting protein N-glycosylation. Accordingly, membra ne glycoprotein samples were prepared from the melanoma cells cultured with or without N-3554S, and amounts and structures of N-linked sugar chains were determined. Analyses of the N-linked oligosaccharides rel eased by hydrazinolysis from these samples and reduced with (NaBH4)-H- 3 revealed that the N-3554S-treated cells contain 1.5-1.8 times as muc h oligosaccharides as the control cells, and the relative amounts of h igh-mannose-type and bi-, tri- and tetra-antennary complex-type sugar chains are almost the same between two samples. Western blot analysis, however, showed that binding of L-PHA, which binds to oligosaccharide s with the GlcNAc beta 1 --> 6(GlcNAc beta 1 --> 2) Man structure, is significantly reduced in 90 K, 96 K, 140 K, 155 K and 180 K glycoprote ins in N-3554S-treated cells. Immunoblot analysis showed that the 140 K glycoprotein could be a fibronectin receptor. It was also shown that N-3554S treatment enhances the adhesiveness of the cells to fibronect in. These results indicate that N-3554S affects N-glycosylation of mem brane glycoproteins and alters the cell surface properties of B16-F10 cells.