Effect of 2‐Deoxy‐d‐glucose on the Cell‐Surface Glycoproteins of Hamster Fibroblasts

Abstract

Growth of baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells in medium containing 2-deoxy-D-glucose is retarded in direct proportion to the 2-deoxyglucose concentration. The severity of the effect is reduced in medium containing high relative concentrations of glucose. 2-Deoxyglucose inhibits the incorporation of radioactivity from mannose, galactose, glucosamine, fucose and N-acetylmannosamine precursors into acid-insoluble cellular material. Incorporation of radioactively labeled leucine into protein is not affected by 2-deoxyglucose. BHK cells grown in the presence of 2-deoxyglucose become less sensitive to the toxic action of certain plant lectins, ricin of Ricinus communis and Phaseolus vulgaris phytohemagglutinin, which bind specifically to cell surface galactose and N-acetyl-galactosamine residues. By contrast, 2-deoxyglucose increased the sensitivity of BHK cells to the weak toxicity of concanavalin A which binds to surface mannosides. Treated cells also become more agglutinable with concanavalin A. Cell surface glycoproteins labeled by lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination were examined by dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The radio-iodinated glycoproteins prepared from cells grown in medium containing 2-deoxyglucose migrate more rapidly than glycoproteins from cells grown in the absence of inhibitor.