Chronic lymphocytic leukemia: Demonstration of cell surface structural heterogeneity by lectin affinity chromatography of cell extracts

I have used lectin affinity chromatography of radiolabelled components in cell extracts to examine molecular heterogeneity of membrane glycoproteins from 10 cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Different complements of radiolabelled surface glycoproteins were found in extracts from cells with different lectin binding characteristics. Additional confirmation of heterogeneity was obtained by analyses of hexose and sialic acid contents of the extracts and various lectin-adherent fractions. The fact that CLL cells from different patients may carry different cell surface oligosaccharides provides the possibility that clinical variability in this disorder may relate in part to this molecular heterogeneity. The data further indicate that different lectins may bind to different saccharide structures at CLL cell surfaces. CLL cells represent excellent source material for isolation and purification of specific lectin receptor molecules.