Globotriaosylceramide-expressing Burkitt's lymphoma cells are committed to early apoptotic status by rhamnose-binding lectin from catfish eggs.

Silurus asotus (catfish) egg lectin (SAL) has a strong affinity to Gal alpha-linked carbohydrate chains of not only glycoproteins but also glycosphingolipids such as globotriaosylceramide (Gb3). SAL uniformly bound to surfaces of Gb3-expressing (Gb3+) Burkitt's lymphoma cells, while Gb3 molecules were interspersed on the surfaces of Gb3+ cells. After a short period of treating Raji and Daudi cells with SAL, each cell size was 10 and 25% smaller than that of untreated cells, respectively. Treatment of Gb3+ cells with SAL caused an increase in binding of annexin V, however, neither caspase activation nor DNA fragmentation was observed after treatment with SAL for 22 h. Since SAL did not induce cell death in Gb3+ cells, SAL may function as an inducer of early apoptotic signal. We have revealed that SAL did not bind to D-threo-1-phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-morphorino-1-propanol (D-PDMP)-treated Raji cells, and no cell shrinkage was observed in Gb3-deficient Raji cells treated with SAL, indicating that Gb3 localized in the glycosphingolipid-enriched microdomain (GEM) was involved in SAL-induced cell shrinkage through activation of voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.3, and that the glycoprotein ligands on Gb3-deficient Raji cells treated with SAL were not included in this phenomenon. These results suggest that SAL leads the cells to early apoptotic status via binding to Gb3 existing in GEM, and that this binding is a prerequisite condition to induce early stage of apoptosis.