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It is shown that dopachrome (2-carboxy-2,3-dihydroindole-5,6-quinone) tautomerase (DCT) is a glycoprotein containing N-linked oligosaccharides. The enzymic activity can be stimulated by partial deglycosylation with a number of glycosylases such as neuraminidase, beta-mannosidase and beta-galactosidase. However, the stability of the enzyme after the hydrolytic treatment becomes lower. Thus total deglycosylation with peptide N-glycosidase F directly provokes an inactivation of DCT. The native enzyme also shows a strong affinity for concanavalin A-Sepharose. This affinity decreases after treatment with neuraminidase and/or beta-mannosidase. The DCT associated with coated vesicles seems to be mostly glycosylated, since the action of glycosylases on the enzyme obtained from these vesicles produced a similar stimulation to that with the melanosomal enzyme. Treatment of cultured melanocytes with tunicamycin elicited a decrease in the amount of active DCT inside the cells. All data suggest that the structure of the carbohydrate moiety of DCT should be very similar to, if not identical with, the structure proposed for tyrosinase by Ohkura, Yamashita, Mishima & Kobata (1984) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 235, 63-77.

Cell lysates and exocytosed soluble mediator(s) (ESM) released from CD8+ T cell lines (TCL) by receptor-triggered secretory exocytosis were tested for degradation of proteoglycans associated with in vitro produced subendothelial extracellular matrix (ECM). ESM was found to release low-molecular weight (kav 0.5-0.6) fragments from the sulfated proteoglycans in ECM. In the presence of heparin, an inhibitor for endoglycosidase activity, only high-molecular-weight products (kav 0.2) were formed. Preincubation of ESM with HD-prolylphenylalanyl-arginyl-chloromethylketone (PFR-CK) an inhibitor for the T cell-associated serine proteinase-1 (MTSP-1) totally prevented release of high- and low-molecular weight proteoglycan fragments. Furthermore, it was shown that purified MTSP-1 is able to release from ECM high-molecular weight proteoglycans and that this process is inhibitable by PFR-CK but not by heparin. Further treatment of these soluble high-molecular weight sulfated proteoglycans with ESM from TCL 1.D9 led to appearance of low-molecular weight split products (kav 0.5-0.6). This conversion was inhibitable by heparin but not by PFR-CK. These findings indicate that activated T cells contain two enzymatic activities, i.e. MTSP-1 and at least one endoglycosidase, which after receptor-triggered secretion can synergize in the degradation of sulfated proteoglycans in subendothelial ECM.

An endo-type semi-alkaline cellulase (CMCase I) produced by an alkalophilic Streptomyces strain has an extraordinarily long leader peptide of about 70 amino acids (aa), which can be grouped into four distinct regions, an NH2-terminal region (13 aa), an Arg-cluster region (13 aa), a hydrophobic region (23 aa), and an Ala/Pro-repeat region (12 aa). For identification of the function of each part of the leader peptide for secretion of the enzyme, mutation in the leader peptide were generated by site-directed mutagenesis using the cloned gene, and the mutant genes were expressed in a cellulase-negative mutant strain, Streptomyces lividans HN1. Although all the alterations in the leader peptide, except for one case, decreased secretion to various extents, in S. lividans, the following conclusions were obtained. Comparison of the intra- and extra-cellular enzyme activities of the mutants suggested that the Arg-cluster region was essential in secretion of the cellulase. Deletion of 8 amino acids rich in threonine and proline in the NH2-terminal region enhanced the secretion to a small extent. Deletion of the Ala/Pro repeat region had almost no effect on secretion.

Many cancers metastasize nonrandomly to particular distant sites, and their colonization properties cannot be explained by mechanical considerations, such as arrest of tumor cells in the first microcirculatory network encountered. Metastatic cells that show a high propensity to metastasize to certain organs adhere at higher rates to microvessel endothelial cells isolated from these target sites, invade into target tissue at higher rates and respond better to paracrine growth factors from the target site. These properties depend on multiple tumor cell, host cell, and stromal molecules that are differentially expressed by particular tumor and organ cells and by the extracellular matrix. For example, some of the adhesion molecules involved in tumor cell-endothelial cell adhesion have been identified on both tumor and host cells. Among them are: integrins, endogenous lectins, annexins, and other molecules. The invasive properties of particular tumor cells are dependent on the production of degradative enzymes, such as metalloproteinases, heparanase and cys and ser proteinases, and on responses to organ-derived paracrine and autocrine motility factors. The subsequent growth of particular tumor cells at certain organ sites is determined, in part, by their responses to organ paracrine growth factors and the organ extracellular matrix. Collectively these factors appear to determine the organ colonization properties of blood-borne metastatic cells.

Ricin A-chain is an N-glycosidase that attacks ribosomal RNA at a highly conserved adenine residue. The enzyme is representative of a large family of medically significant proteins used in the design of anticancer agents and in the treatment of HIV infection. The x-ray structure has been used as a guide to create several active site mutations by directed mutagenesis of the cloned gene. Glu177 is a key catalytic residue, and conversion to Gln reduces activity 180-fold. Asn209 is shown to participate in substrate binding by kinetic analysis. Conversion to Ser increases Km sixfold but has no effect on kcat. Conversion of Tyr80 and Tyr123 to Phe decreases activity by 15- and 7-fold respectively. A mechanism of action is proposed that involves binding of the substrate adenine in a syn configuration that resembles the transition state; the putative oxycarbonium ion is probably stabilized by interaction with Glu177.

Neoplastic cells require an appropriate pericellular environment and new formation of stroma and blood vessels in order to constitute a solid tumor. Tumor progression also involves degradation of various extracellular matrix (ECM) constituents. In this review we have focused on the possible involvement of ECM-resident growth factors and enzymes in neovascularization and cell invasion. We demonstrate that the pluripotent angiogenic factor, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is an ECM component required for supporting cell proliferation and differentiation. Basic FGF has been identified in the subendothelial ECM produced in vitro and in basement membranes of the cornea and blood vessels in vivo. Despite the ubiquitous presence of bFGF in normal tissues, endothelial cell (EC) proliferation in these tissues is usually very low, suggesting that bFGF is somehow sequestered from its site of action. Our results indicate that bFGF is bound to heparan sulfate (HS) in the ECM and is released in an active form when the ECM-HS is degraded by cellular heparanase. We propose that restriction of bFGF bioavailability by binding to ECM and local regulation of its release, provides a novel mechanism for regulation of capillary blood vessel growth in normal and pathological situations. Heparanase activity correlates with the metastatic potential of various tumor cells and heparanase inhibiting molecules markedly reduce the incidence of lung metastasis in experimental animals. Heparanase may therefore participate in both tumor cell invasion and angiogenesis through degradation of the ECM-HS and mobilization of ECM-resident EC growth factors. The subendothelial ECM contains also tissue type- and urokinase type- plasminogen activators (PA), as well as PA inhibitor which may regulate cell invasion and tissue remodeling. Heparanase and the ECM-resident PA participate synergistically in sequential degradation of HS-proteoglycans in the ECM. These results together with similar observations on the properties of other ECM-immobilized enzymes and growth factors, suggest that the ECM provides a storage depot for biologically active molecules which are thereby stabilized and protected. This may allow a more localized, regulated and persistent mode of action, as compared to the same molecules in a fluid phase.

Mast cells are widely distributed in perivascular connective tissues, especially in areas of active tumor growth and vascular reactivity. Incubation of metabolically [35S]O4 = -labeled subendothelial extracellular matrix (ECM) with lysates of bone marrow-derived mouse mast cells (BMMC) resulted in extensive degradation of heparan sulfate (HS) into fragments 5 to 6 times smaller than intact HS side chains. A much lower activity (seven- to eightfold) was expressed by intact BMMC incubated in contact with the ECM. These fragments were not produced in the presence of heparin, were sensitive to deamination with nitrous acid, and resistant to further degradation with papain or chondroitinase ABC. These results indicate that an endoglycosidase (heparanase) is involved in BMMC-mediated degradation of HS in the subendothelial ECM. Heparanase activity was not detected in medium conditioned by cultured BMMC, or in lysates of Ableson transformed BMMC and rat basophilic leukemic (RBL) cells. Both heparanase and beta-hexosaminidase, a mast cell granule enzyme, were released on degranulation of BMMC induced by the calcium ionophore A23187, or by exposure to IgE-Ag, suggesting that heparanase is localized in the cell granules. Under these conditions, less than 5% of the cellular content of lactate dehydrogenase were released. Degradation of the ECM-HS by the mast cell heparanase and the associated release of HS-bound endothelial cell growth factors that are stored in ECM (Vlodavsky et al, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 84:2292, 1987; Bashkin et al, Biochemistry 28:1737, 1989) may play a role in the proposed mast cell-mediated stimulation of neovascularization.

The capacity of various blood-borne cells, whether normal or malignant, to extravasate was found to correlate with heparanase-mediated degradation of HS in subendothelial ECM. This degradation was stimulated by proteases or plasminogen and inhibited by native heparin and by various modified nonanticoagulant species of heparin. These heparins also induced a marked reduction in tumor cell metastasis and autoimmune diseases in experimental animals. Heparanase-mediated degradation of HS in ECM also released EC growth factors that are stored in ECM, most likely by high affinity binding to HS. Such growth factors were extracted from subendothelial ECM synthesized in vitro and from basement membranes of the cornea in vivo, and are structurally and functionally related to bFGF;bFGF binds to ECM and is readily released by incubation with either HS, heparin or low MW heparin fragments as well as by various normal and malignant cells and by heparanase-mediated degradation of ECM HS. In contrast, there was little or no release of growth-promoting activity upon incubation of ECM with hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate or chondroitinase ABC. A model is proposed suggesting that regulation of capillary growth and neovascular response may result from displacement of an angiogenic protein (bFGF) from its storage sites within basement membranes.

Freshly isolated human neutrophils were investigated for their ability to degrade heparan sulfate proteoglycans in the subendothelial extracellular matrix (ECM) produced by cultured corneal and vascular endothelial cells. The ECM was metabolically labeled with Na2(35S)O4 and labeled degradation products were analyzed by gel filtration over Sepharose 6B. More than 90% of the released radioactivity consisted of heparan sulfate fragments 5-6 times smaller than intact heparan sulfate side chains released from the ECM by either papain or alkaline borohydride. These fragments were sensitive to deamination with nitrous acid and were not produced in the presence of either heparin or serine protease inhibitors. In contrast, degradation of soluble high molecular weight heparan sulfate proteoglycan, which was first released from the ECM, was inhibited by heparin but there was no effect of protease inhibitors. These results indicate that interaction of human neutrophils with the subendothelial ECM is associated with degradation of its heparan sulfate by means of a specific, newly identified, heparanase activity and that this degradation is facilitated to a large extent by serine proteases. The neutrophil heparanase was readily and preferentially released (15-25% of the cellular content in 60 min) by simply incubating the cells at 4 degrees C in the absence of added stimuli. Under these conditions, less than 5% of the cellular content of lactate dehydrogenase, lysozyme, and globin degrading proteases was released. Further purification of the neutrophil heparanase was achieved by its binding to heparin-Sepharose and elution at 1 M NaCl. It is suggested that heparanase activity is involved in the early events of extravasation and diapedesis of neutrophils in response to a threshold signal from an extravascular inflamed organ.

A slow conversion of adenine residues to hypoxanthine occurs in single-stranded DNA when heated in neutral aqueous buffers. The rate of this reaction at pH 7.6 and 110 degrees C is k = 4 x 10(-8) s-1, as determined by base analysis of heat-treated DNA that contains radioactively labeled adenine residues. It is proposed that adenine deamination is one of several forms of hydrolytic damage that may occur as spontaneous premutagenic lesions in DNA in vivo. Cell extracts from calf thymus and human fibroblasts contain a DNA glycosylase activity with specifically catalyzes the release of free hypoxanthine from DNA or polydeoxyribonucleotides that contain dIMP residues. Several properties of the purified enzyme from calf thymus are described: It has an approximate molecular weight of 31 000. No cofactors are required for activity. The enzymatic release of hypoxanthine occurs readily from double-stranded polydeoxyribonucleotides that have either thymine or cytosine residues in the complementary strand. Single-stranded polymers are 10-20-fold more slowly attacked, and there is no detectable cleavage of monomeric dIMP. Hypoxanthine is liberated from DNA directly as a free base. Thus, when poly(dI) x poly(dC) containing both [3H]-dIMP and [32P]dIMP residues was employed as the substrate, 3H-labeled hypoxanthine but no 32P-labeled material was released in ethanol-soluble form. The hypoxanthine-DNA glycosylase presumably acts in DNA repair by preventing deaminated adenine residues from being expressed as mu.

Glycosidases have been demonstrated to be elevated in the interstitial fluid of tumors, sera of animals and patients with tumors, and in some tumor tissue as compared to normal adjacent tissue. Elevations of serum beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase and beta-glucuronidase most commonly have been found to occur and these enzymes have been shown to be secreted into the extracellular medium by many different tumor cell types in vitro. The mechanism of cellular release of these hydrolytic enzymes probably involves tumor lysosomal exocytosis. Increased tumor glycosidase levels may promote increased tumor cell shedding from primary tumors, local invasion and perhaps be responsible directly, or indirectly for structural changes in tumor cell surface glycoconjugates. These cell surface changes could facilitate tumor cell thrombus formation, secondary site implantation and attachment in the microcirculation to endothelial cells and/or subendothelial basement membrane components. Other studies have demonstrated a correlation between metastatic cell potential and increased endoglycosidase and polysaccharide lyase activity. Generally, metastatic tumor cell variants have been found to be more invasive and capable of degrading proteoglycan basement membrane components, in part due to these increased levels of degradative enzymes. Hence, it is of considerable interest to develop inhibitors against these enzymes. Initial studies with glucuronidase inhibitors in the therapy of bladder tumors have been promising and with the advent of better agents and the use of appropriate in vitro metastatic models it may be possible to design and develop agents which interfere in various metastatic events and limit tumor progression.

The product of the Klebsiella pneumoniae gene pulS, which is located downstream from the pullulanase structural gene (pulA), is essential for the cell surface localization and extracellular release of pullulanase in Escherichia coli K-12. pulS is transcribed in the opposite direction to pulA, from which it is separated by a region of 624 nucleotides. Although this latter region contains a new component of the maltose regulon, pulB, which is transcribed from the pulA promoter, it is not required for pullulanase synthesis or secretion. Unlike pulA and all other pullulanase secretion genes characterized so far, the expression of pulS is not induced by growth in the presence of maltose and is unaffected by mutations in the maltose regulator gene malT. The pulS gene product was identified as a ca. 12-kilodalton outer membrane lipoprotein. The characterization of PulS brings to three the number of identified proteins which are known to be required for pullulanase secretion in addition to the components of the signal sequence-dependent general protein export pathway.

The kinetics of cell attachment and cell spreading on the coated surfaces of two classes of carbohydrate-reactive proteins, enzymes and lectins, have been compared with those on fibronectin-coated surfaces with the following results: (a) A remarkable similarity between the kinetics of cell attachment to fibronectin-coated and glycosidase-coated surfaces was found. In contrast, cell attachment kinetics induced by lectin- and galactose oxidase-coated surfaces, in general, were strikingly different from those on fibronectin and glycosidase surfaces. The distinction between fibronectin- or glycosidase- and lectin- or galactose oxidase (an enzyme with lectin-type characteristics)-coated surfaces was further supported by the finding that cytochalasin B and EDTA inhibited cell attachment to fibronectin- and glycosidase-coated surfaces but not lectin-coated surfaces. (b) Fibronectin, if labeled and added to a cell suspension, showed only low or negligible interaction with the cell surface. However, fibronectin absorbed on plastic surfaces showed a high cell-attaching activity. It is assumed that fibronectin coated on plastic surfaces may form polyvalent attachment sites in contrast to its lower valency in aqueous solution. (c) Various inhibitors of cell attachment to both fibronectin-, galactose oxidase-, and lectin-coated surfaces were effective only during the first few minutes of the adhesion assay, after which time the attached cells became insensitive to the inhibitors. It is suggested that the initial specific recognition on either lectin-type or fibronectin-type surfaces is followed by an active cell-dependent attachment process. The primary role of the adhesion surface is to stimulate the cell-dependent attachment response. (d) Cells attached on tetravalent concanavalin A (Con A) spread very rapidly and quantitatively, whereas divalent succinyl Con A and monovalent Con A were effective stimulators of cell attachment but not cell spreading. Cross-linking of succinyl Con A restored the cell spreading activity. Tetravalent Con A surfaces specifically bind soluble glycoproteins, whereas succinyl Con A has a greatly reduced ability to bind the same glycoproteins. These results suggest that cross-linking of cell surface glycoproteins by the multivalent adhesive surface may trigger the cellular reaction leading to cell spreading.

Six endoglucanases (Endo I; II; III; IV; V; VI), three exoglucanases (Exo I; II; III) and a beta-glucosidase (beta-gluc I) were isolated from a commercial cellulase preparation derived from Trichoderma viride, using gel filtration on Bio-Gel, anion exchange on DEAE-Bio-Gel A, cation exchange on SE-Sephadex and affinity chromatography on crystalline cellulose. Molecular masses were determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. One group of endoglucanases (Endo I, Endo II and Endo IV) with Mr of 50 000, 45 000 and 23 500 were more random in their attack on carboxymethylcellulose than another group (Endo III, Endo V and Endo VI) showing Mr of 58 000, 57 000 and 53 000 respectively. Endo III was identified as a new type of endoglucanase with relatively high activity on crystalline cellulose and moderate activity on carboxymethylcellulose. Exo II and Exo III with Mr of 60 500 and 62 000 respectively showed distinct adsorption affinities on a column of crystalline cellulose and could be eluted by a pH gradient to alkaline regions. These enzymes were cellobiohydrolases as judged by high-pressure liquid chromatography of the products obtained from incubation with H3PO4-swollen cellulose. It was concluded that these exoglucanases are primarily active on newly generated chain ends. Exo I was essentially another type of exoglucanase which in the first instance was able to split off a cellobiose molecule from a chain end and then hydrolyse this molecule in a second step to two glucose units beta-Gluc I was a new type of aryl-beta-D-glucosidase which had no activity on cellobiose. The enzyme had a Mr of 76 000 and was moderately active on CM-cellulose, crystalline cellulose and xylan and highly active on p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-glucose and p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-xylose.

Dissemination of neoplastic cells within the body involves invasion of blood vessels by tumor cells. Since platelets have been shown to contribute to this process, we studied the interaction in vitro of platelets and malignant cells with the vascular endothelium and its underlying basement membrane-like ECM. A metastatic subline (ESb) of the methylcholanthrene-induced DBA/2 T-lymphoma invaded the vascular endothelium at a higher rate than its parental nonmetastatic (Eb) subline. ESb cells also exhibited a much higher ability to degrade the proteoglycan scaffold of the ECM by means of a specific HS degrading endoglycosidase (heparanase). The interaction of platelets with this ECM was associated with platelet activation, aggregation, and degradation of HS by means of the platelet heparanase. Degradation of ECM-HS was facilitated by proteolytic activity that produced a more accessible substrate for further cleavage by heparanase. A similar enhancement was exerted by plasminogen via the activity of the tumor cells or ECM associated PAs. Heparin and chemically modified heparins that lack anticoagulant activity inhibited degradation of the ECM-HS by heparanase. Interaction of platelets and lymphoma cells with ECM covered with vascular endothelial cells was investigated by SEM and by determination of ECM-HS degradation products. SEM studies demonstrated that platelets may adhere to minor gaps between adjacent endothelial cells and degrade the ECM-HS. Platelets were also shown to recruit lymphoma cells into these interendothelial gaps, suggesting that by binding to ECM and release of heparanase, platelets may play an active role in tumor cell invasion and metastasis. Our observation that nonanticoagulant heparins may interfere with heparanase-mediated degradation of ECM-HS suggests a potential therapeutic use for such heparins in neoplastic disorders.

Two molecular species of endoglycoceramidase (designated as endoglycoceramidases I and II) were purified 32,700 and 43,000 times with overall recoveries of 4.8 and 2.9%, respectively, from a culture fluid of the mutant strain M-750 of Rhodococcus sp., cultivated in the absence of inducers (ganglioside). After being stained with Coomassie Brilliant Blue or a silver-staining solution, each purified enzyme showed a single protein band on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence and absence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. The apparent molecular weights, as estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, were 55,900 for endoglycoceramidase I and 58,900 for endoglycoceramidase II, and their pIs were 5.3 and 4.5, respectively. both were capable of hydrolyzing the glucosylceramide linkage of ganglio-type, lacto-type, and globo-type glycosphingolipids to afford intact oligosaccharides and ceramides. Globo-type glycosphingolipids were strongly resistant to hydrolysis by endoglycoceramidase II in comparison with endoglycoceramidase I. Neither could hydrolyze gala-type glycosphingolipids, cerebrosides, sulfatides, glycoglycerolipids, or sphingomyelins. In addition to these two enzymes, the strain M-750 produced a third minor molecular species of endoglycoceramidase designated as endoglycoceramidase III. It was found capable of specifically hydrolyzing the galactosylceramide linkage of gala-type glycosphingolipids that were not hydrolyzable at all by endoglycoceramidases I or II. The molecular weights of the oligosaccharide and ceramide released from asialo GM1, incubated either in normal H2O or H2(18)O with the enzyme, were compared by fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry. The result clearly indicated that both endoglycoceramidases I and II hydrolyze the glycosidic linkage between the oligosaccharide and ceramide. Thus, a systematic name of the endoglycoceramidase should be glycosyl-N-acyl-sphingosine 1,1-beta-D-glucanohydrolase.

The extent and the specificity of the initial cell attachment induced by various proteins coated on plastic surfaces have been studied with the following results: (a) Cell adhesion on the surfaces coated with sialidase and beta-galactosidase was as strong as on concanavalin A and limulus lectin-coated surfaces and the reactions were strongly inhibited by glycosidase inhibitors or by competitive substrates. The adhesion on sialidase was inhibited by 2-deoxy-2,3-dehydro-N-acetylneuraminic acid and by polysialoganglioside (GT1b) at low concentration (0.05-0.1 mM). The cell adhesion on beta-galactosidase coat was inhibited by 1,4-D-galactonolactone and beta-methylgalactoside but not by alpha-methylgalactoside. Thus, the initiation of cell adhesion on glycosidase surfaces could be mediated through the interactions of the specific binding sites of the enzyme surface with the cell surface substrates under physiological conditions. (b) Cell adhesion on various lectins could be blocked by various competing monosaccharides at the concentrations similar to the inhibitory concentrations for binding of lectins from solution to the cells. (c) Cell adhesion on fibronectin surfaces as well as on gelatin-coated surfaces was equally inhibited by GT1b at relatively high concentrations (0.25-0.5 mM). Lower concentrations of GT1b (0.05-0.1 mM) inhibited the cell adhesion on surfaces of Limulus lectin and sialidase. It is suggested that the cell adhesion mediated by fibronectin is based on yet unknown interactions in contrast to a specific cell adhesion through glycosidases and lectins.

A major endopolygalacturonase excreted by Pseudomonas solanacearum was purified to greater than 95% homogeneity and shown to have an isoelectric point of 9.0 and a subunit molecular mass of 52 kilodaltons (kDa). The gene encoding this enzyme (pglA) was isolated from a genomic library of P. solanacearum DNA based on its expression in Escherichia coli and shown to be contained on a 1.8-kilobase DNA fragment. The identity of the pglA gene product and the 52-kDa polygalacturonase was demonstrated by immunoadsorption and isoelectric focusing experiments. The cloned pglA gene was apparently expressed from its own promoter in E. coli and its product was partially secreted into the periplasm. The pglA gene was insertionally inactivated in vitro and used to mutate the chromosomal pglA gene of P. solanacearum by marker exchange mutagenesis. The resulting mutant strain was deficient in production of the 52-kDa polygalacturonase and took twice as long to wilt and kill tomato plants as the wild-type parent in plant bioassay experiments. Complementation in trans with the wild-type cloned pglA gene restored virulence to near wild-type levels. The data indicate that the pglA gene is important, but not absolutely necessary, for pathogenesis.

Red blood cells (rbcs) have a definite life-span in circulation, 120 days in humans (and 60 days in rat). This involves the turnover of the equivalent of 2 x 10(11) rbcs per day in a normal adult. Many time-dependent physical, chemical, as well as biochemical and immunologic changes are associated with in vivo aging of rbcs in circulation. The major difficulty has been to unravel the complex picture and assign the primary signal responsible for the sequestration of the senescent rbc from circulation. Our current hypothesis based on the results of studies from many laboratories including our own is that it involves the progressive desialation of the most abundant sialoglycoprotein on rbc surface, glycophorin A. The complete desialation of glycophorin results in the exposure of multiple galactose-beta(1,3) N-acetylgalactosamine disaccharide residues on the rbc surface. These sites are recognized by the reticuloendothelial system, and result in the sequestration of those desialated senescent rbcs from circulation. This review summarizes the evidence for and against the immediate acceptance of this hypothesis.