Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate 

 Council of the University of Florida in Partial 

 Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree 

 of Doctor of Philosophy 



ALPHA- AMANITIN-CONCANAVALIN A CONJUGATES 

 AS INHIBITORS OF SPECIFIC CELL TYPES 



By 



RONALD STEPHEN HENCIN 



August, 1979 



Chairman: James F. Preston 



Major Department: Microibology and Cell Science 



Macromolecular conjugates of the fungal toxin a- 

 amanitin and concanavalin A (Con A) were used to evalu- 

 ate the ability of Con A to impart selectivity with 

 respect to cellular uptake to a-amanitin. The efficiency 

 of targeting to specific cellular receptors via Con A 

 saccharide binding sites, the degree to which these re- 

 ceptors could facilitate entry of toxin into the cell, 

 and determination of resultant a-amanitin mediated cyto- 

 toxicity comprise the major objectives of the study. 



Covalent a-amanitin-Con A conjugates prepared with 

 a free carboxyl group containing derivative of a-amanitin 

 (ADGG) via reaction with carbodiimides contained an aver- 

 age of 3.6 moles ADGG per mole Con A. They retained a 



high degree of binding specificity and affinity for calf 



-9 

 thymus RNA polymerase II in_ vitro (K = 27 x 10 M versus 



-9 

 6.9 x 10 M for free ADGG). The ADGG-Con A conjugates 



IV 



