STUDIES ON THE NATURALLY OCCURRING HEMAGGLUTININ IN THE COELOMIC FLUID OF AN ASCIDIAN

Abstract

The occurrence of a natural hemagglutinin in the coelomic fluid of solitary ascidians, Styela plicata and Halocynthia hilgendorfi is reported. The hemagglutinin aggregated some mammalian erythrocytes and was absorbed by them. The hemagglutinins of the two ascidian species are specifically distinct.The hemagglutinin of Styela plicata is a large molecule which is very heat stable, resistant to trypsin digestion, but is destroyed by periodate. These data suggest that the hemagglutinin is polysaccharide or mucopolysaccharide.The hemagglutinin has no apparent opsonic effect, but it seems to play a role in the adherence of cell-to-cell and cell-to-glass surface.