Tissue- and developmental stage-specific forms of a neural cell surface antigen linked to differences in glycosylation of a common polypeptide.
We have previously identified a cell surface glycoprotein of the mouse nervous system named brain cell surface protein-2 (BSP-2). Here we report that this antigen is not a single, discrete entity, but a family of antigenically and structurally related molecules. Three components of 180, 140, and 120 K were characteristic for more mature nervous tissues. Adult cerebral cortex contained the 140-K and 120-K antigens, adult spinal cord only the 120-K, and dorsal root ganglia from young mice mainly the 180-K component. Very different forms of the antigen that migrated as a diffuse zone from 180-250-K in SDS-polyacrylamide gels were found in immature nervous tissues. A molecule different from the previous ones was found in a neuroblastoma line. Evidence is presented that the structural diversity of BSP-2 is due to differences in glycosylation. This result indicates that cell type- and developmental stage-specific glycoprotein patterns previously found in the nervous system may in part be due to different glycosylation of identical polypeptides. The finding that a neural cell surface protein may be glycosylated in different ways has important implications for the generation of cell surface specificity.
D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000032:analysis*; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development*; D002460:Cell Line; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000254:growth & development; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000254:growth & development; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009447:Neuroblastoma; D012794:Sialic Acids; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000254:growth & development*
D000954:Antigens, Surface; D012794:Sialic Acids; C038718:neural cell surface antigen BSP-2