Competitive binding assays utilizing concanavalin A (ConA) have the potential to be the basis of improved continuous glucose monitoring devices. However, the efficacy and lifetime of these assays have been limited, in part, by ConA's instability due to its thermal denaturation in the physiological environment (37 °C, pH 7.4, 0.15 M NaCl) and its electrostatic interaction with charged molecules ...

BACKGROUND It is well established that macrophage infiltration is involved in concanavalin A (conA)-induced liver injury. However, the role of macrophages in conA-induced renal injury remains unknown. The aims of this study were to investigate macrophage infiltration in conA-induced renal injury and determine whether paeoniflorin (PF) could inhibit macrophage infiltration into the kidney. MET...

There are numerous glycoproteins recognized by Concanavalin A (ConA) and Galanthus nivalis agglutinin (GNA) in 0.35 mol/l NaCl soluble fraction of chromatin proteins loosely bound to DNA from hamster, chicken and frog liver cells. Results of our detailed comparative analysis show a marked similarity between liver chromatin glycoproteins from the examined animals. The presence of similar chromat...

A kind of concanavalin A functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotube (ConA-MWCNT) was constructed by noncovalent assembly of ConA on carboxylated MWCNT with poly(diallyldimethylammonium) as a linker. The novel nanomaterial was characterized with scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. It incorporated both the specific recognition ability of lectin for cell-surface mannosyl grou...

Fulminant hepatitis is a severe liver disease resulting in hepatocyte necrosis. Galectin‑9 (Gal‑9) is a tandem‑repeat‑type galectin that has been evaluated as a potential therapeutic agent for various diseases that regulate the host immune system. Concanavalin A (ConA) injection into mice results in serious, immune‑mediated liver injury similar to human viral, autoimmune and fulminant hepatitis...

The binding of carbohydrate substrates to concanavalin A (Canavalia ensiformis agglutinin (ConA)) is essential for its interaction with various glycoproteins. Even though metal ions are known to control the sugar binding ability of legume lectins, the interplay between sugar and metal ion binding to ConA has not been elucidated in a detailed manner at the atomic level. We have carried out long,...

Amphiphilic poly(ε-caprolactone)-block-poly[2-(α-D-mannopyranosyloxy) ethyl acrylamide] (PCL-b-PManEA) block copolymers were synthesized via a combination of ring-opening polymerization (ROP), reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization and reactive ester-amine reaction. The PCL-b-PManEA block copolymers can self-assemble into micelles and encapsulate anticancer drug ...

PKCzeta is required for nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-kappaB) activation in several cell systems. NF-kappaB is a suppressor of liver apoptosis during development and in concanavalin A (ConA)-induced T-cell-mediated hepatitis. Here we show that PKCzeta-/- mice display inhibited ConA-induced NF-kappaB activation and reduced damage in liver. As the IL-4/Stat6 pathway is necessary for ConA-induced hep...

This report describes a quantitative study of the agglutination of rat thymocytes with concanavalin A (ConA). The probability that two ConA-coated cells remain bound after centrifugation was determined over a wide range of lectin concentrations. The minimal force required to separate agglutinated cells and the number of ConA molecules bound per cell were measured in similar experimental conditi...