Sialic acid of mammalian cell lines.

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AbstractApproximately two‐thirds of the total sialic acid (S.A.) per cell of a number of cell lines (L‐929, L5178Y, HeLa, C13, P183, and CHO) was located at the cell surface but was inaccessible to the action of trypsin, pronase, lysozyme, β‐glucuronidase, or hyaluronidase. The mean surface density of S.A. ranged from 5.4 × 105 molecules/μ2 surface area for the L5178Y cell to 16.1 × 105 molecules/μ2 for the P183 cell. The P183 cell line, which is a polyoma virus‐transformed derivative of Stoker's C13 line, consistently contained more S.A. per cell than the latter under a variety of growth conditions, although the two lines did not differ in mean cell volume. When mean cell volume of C13, P183, or CHO cells was experimentally manipulated by thymidine or colcemide blockade, S.A. content per cell followed size changes closely. No evidence could be found for a shift in total S.A. per unit cell volume accompanying the period of maximum mitotic activity of partially synchronized CHO suspension cultures. Comparisons between cells grown on glass and the same cells grown in suspension, or between cells grown to different densities on glass, indicated no differences in the characteristic S.A. content per cell.