Equilibrium dialysis studies on the binding of the Dolichos biflorus lectin with [14C]methyl alpha-D-GalNAc showed that the lectin has two combining sites/molecule and an intrinsic association constant at 3 degrees C of 4.2 X 10(3) liters mol-1. Binding studies on individual fractions (II, IV, and VII) of the lectin that differ in their chromatographic properties on concanavalin A-Sepharose gav...

The binding of 125I-asialoorosomucoid and the isolated rabbit hepatic lectin were studied at 0 degrees C. The steady state binding data were analyzed both by a direct curve-fitting procedure that utilizes nonlinear least squares regression analysis, and by conventional Scatchard plot analysis. Two classes of binding sites, present in approximately equal concentrations, were detected by both ana...

Mannose-binding lectin, together with mannose-associated serine proteases, activates the lectin pathway of the complement system and subsequent inflammatory mechanisms. An association between mannose-binding lectin deficiency and anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibody levels is observed in Crohn's disease and this deficiency is frequently associated with a severe Crohn's disease phenotype. In t...

In the present work, a D-galactose-specific lectin with novel N-terminal sequence was purified from Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae) pupae. The purification was performed using affinity chromatography, ultra-filtration, and HPLC. The haemagglutinating activity of M. domestica lectin was specifically inhibited by D-galactose. The haemagglutinating activity of this lectin was stable at temp...

Chronic liver disease is a major complication of cystic fibrosis. Its incidence and severity show marked heterogeneity, even among the homogeneous group of homozygous DeltaF508 patients, suggesting that environmental or genetic factors other than the deletion DeltaF508 may influence the development of cystic fibrosis related liver disease. We investigated whether the allelic variants of mannose...

Crithidia oncopelti, a parasitic trypanosomatid protozoan of insects, normally contains intracellular symbiotic bacteria. As shown earlier, the protozoa can be rid of their endosymbiotes by chloramphenicol, producing a symbiote-free cell line. Here surface-membrane carbohydrate ligands of the symbiote-containing and symbiote-free strains were compared by lectin-mediated agglutination, lectin-ul...

We have examined the carbohydrate binding specificity of the B4 lectin from Vicia villosa seeds. The B4 lectin agglutinates Tn-exposed erythrocytes specifically and binds to these erythrocytes (1.4 X 10(6) sites/cell) with an association constant of 4.2 X 10(7) M-1. The concentrations of saccharides and glycopeptides of defined structure which cause 50% inhibition of B4 lectin binding to Tn-exp...

In kidney transplantation, complement activation was found to be induced by donor brain death, renal ischemia-reperfusion injury and allograft rejection. There are three known pathways of complement activation: the classical, lectin and the alternative pathway. The lectin complement pathway can be activated upon pattern recognition by mannan binding lectin (MBL) or ficolins (FCN). Single nucleo...

A lectin specific for chito-oligosaccharides from the exudate of ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula) fruits has been purified to homogeneity by affinity chromatography. The lectin has a molecular weight of 48,000, an S(0)20,w of 4.06 S and a Stokes radius of 2.9 nm. Upon sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, a single band corresponding to Mr of 24,000 was observed both in the pr...

One of the proposed functions for the carbohydrate structures on glycoconjugates is the transfer of information through interaction with specific lectin receptors. However, the number of elucidated functional lectin-carbohydrate interactions is still relatively small, largely due to the lack of adequate methods to identify lectin activity in complex biological samples. Aiming to solve this prob...