The recognition of pathogens is mediated by a set of pattern recognition molecules that recognize conserved pathogen-associated molecular patterns shared by broad classes of microorganisms. Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is one of the pattern recognition molecules and activates complement in association with MBL-associated serine protease (MASP) via the lectin pathway. Recently, an MBL-like lecti...

Mannose binding lectin (MBL) is a central component of the innate immune response and thus may be important for determining hepatitis B virus (HBV) persistence. Since single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene encoding MBL (mbl2) alter the level of functional MBL, we hypothesized that mbl2 genotypes are a determinant of HBV persistence or recovery from viral infection. We tested this hy...

Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a mediator of innate immunity that influences the risk of infection in a range of clinical settings. We previously reported associations between MBL2 genotype and infection in a retrospective study of myeloablative allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HCT). However, other studies have been inconclusive, and the role of MBL in reduced-intensity...

Complement plays a significant role in mediating endothelial injury following oxidative stress. We have previously demonstrated that the lectin complement pathway (LCP), which is initiated by deposition of the mannose-binding lectin (MBL), is largely responsible for activating complement on endothelial cells following periods of oxidative stress. Identifying functional inhibitors that block MBL...

The adult high-grade B-cell lymphomas sharing molecular features with Burkitt lymphoma (BL) are highly aggressive lymphomas with poor clinical outcome. High-resolution structural and functional genomic analysis of adult Burkitt lymphoma (BL) and high-grade B-cell lymphoma with BL gene signature (adult-molecularly defined BL [mBL]) revealed the MYC-ARF-p53 axis as the primary deregulated pathway...

Previous studies have shown that three point mutations in exon 1 and a particular promoter haplotype of the mannan-binding lectin (MBL) gene lead to a dramatic decrease in the serum concentration of MBL. In this study, MBL genotypes and serum concentrations were determined in unrelated individuals in a population from Mozambique (n = 154) and in two native Indian tribes from Argentina (i.e., th...

Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a protein of innate immune system that is involved in opsonization and complement activation. MBL deficiency is associated with predisposition to infectious diseases; however subnormal levels are also seen in healthy subjects. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and clinical manifestation of MBL deficiency in patients with increased susceptibi...

Complement activation plays an important role in local and remote tissue injury associated with gastrointestinal ischemia-reperfusion (GI/R). The role of the classical and lectin complement pathways in GI/R injury was evaluated using C1q-deficient (C1q KO), MBL-A/C-deficient (MBL-null), complement factor 2- and factor B-deficient (C2/fB KO), and wild-type (WT) mice. Gastrointestinal ischemia (2...

Peptidoglycan (PGN) is the major cell wall component (90%, w/w) of Gram-positive bacteria and consists of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) and N-acetylmuramic acid (MurNAc) disaccharide repeating arrays that are cross-linked by short peptides. We hypothesized that PGN is a ligand for pathogen-associated pattern-recognition proteins. Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) and serum amyloid component P are two...

Collectins play important roles in host defense against infectious microorganisms. We now demonstrate that the serum collectins mannose-binding lectin (MBL) and conglutinin have less ability to bind to, aggregate, and enhance neutrophil uptake of several strains of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria than pulmonary surfactant protein D (SP-D). Collectins are composed of four major structur...