Lectins are potentially useful tools in histopathology for the identification of carbohydrates and distinguishing cells according to their type, differentiation or function. Conjugated to fluorescent or enzyme labels, lectins are simple to use on fresh tissue but fixation and processing sequesters glycoconjugates and dissolves out fat-linked sugars. We describe here the use of labelled antibodi...

-Ten commercial lectins were semi-quantitatively analyzed for their metal speciesby'-inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectrometer. Calcium, silicon, zinc and manganese, which had been found in a lectin purified from a tree trunk, were especially analyzed. Calcium was abundant in the lectins obtained from dicotyledonous source, some of which also contained zinc and/or manganese. Calcium ions in...

This article reviews lectins of animal and plant origin that induce apoptosis and autophagy of cancer cells and hence possess the potential of being developed into anticancer drugs. Apoptosis-inducing lectins encompass galectins, C-type lectins, annexins, Haliotis discus discus lectin, Polygonatum odoratum lectin, mistletoe lectin, and concanavalin A, fucose-binding Dicentrarchus labrax lectin,...

Beta-galactoside-binding lectins were isolated from various calf tissues and from chicken hearts by affinity chromatography on asialofetuin-Sepharose, and were compared with respect to biochemical characteristics, binding properties, antigenic cross-reactivity, and cellular localization. The lectins are all thiol group-requiring, divalent cation-independent dimers, of apparent monomer mol wt 12...

The noctuid, Helicoverpa armigera, is the most important crop pest worldwide. We evaluated the biological activity of soybean trypsin inhibitor and plant lectins against this pest to identify toxin genes for deployment through transgenic plants. Of the seven plant lectins tested, chickpea and snowdrop lectins showed marked antibiotic effects in terms of insect survival and development. Larval s...

Lectins, proteins which selectively recognize carbohydrates, have been used in histochemistry for the evaluation of changes in glycosylation in processes of cellular differentiation and/or dedifferentiation. Cratylia mollis seed lectins (Cramoll 1,4 and Cramoll 3), conjugated to horseradish peroxidase, were used as histochemical probes in human prostate tissues: normal (NP), hyperplasia (BPH), ...

Lectins are non-immunoglobulin proteins that bind diverse sugar structures with a high degree of selectivity. Lectins play crucial role in various biological processes such as cellular signaling, scavenging of glycoproteins from the circulatory system, cell-cell interactions in the immune system, differentiation and protein targeting to cellular compartments, as well as in host defence mechanis...

Our previous studies on the fruit body lectin of Pleurotus cornucopiae revealed the existence of three isolectins, composed of two homodimers and one heterodimer of 16- and 15-kDa subunits. In this study, two genes encoding the lectins were cloned and characterized. Both genes encoded 144 amino acids and only 5 amino acids were different within the coding region, but the nucleotide sequences of...

We aimed to explore the roles of glycoproteins in the pathogenesis of chronic and latent Keshan disease (CKD and LKD), and screen the lectins as indicators of significant differences in glycoproteins of KD saliva and serum. Blood and saliva were collected from 50 CKD, 50 LKD patients and 54 normal individuals. Saliva and serum lectin microarrays and saliva and serum microarrays were used to scr...

The isolation of lectins by affinity chromatography with crosslinked hemicelluloses has been a common practice because the variety glycosides that they present, improving different kinds lectins, such as galactose ligands.Lectins for carbohydrates is so specific simple configuration chiral carbon can affect affinity, and there are more related to alfa-galactosidic than beta-galactosidic residue...