In invertebrates, cellular and humoral components are evolved to maintain their body immunity and integrity. Both these factors respond to different antigens such as microorganisms, vertebrate erythrocytes and foreign proteins. In this article, we report a study of a lectin (HSL) involved in immune response in the echinoderm, sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra). Correlative studies indicate that t...

Introduction: There is not enough evidence regarding the influence of folate deficiency in etiology idiopathic male infertility. Objectives: The objective current study was to examine whether there an association between serum levels and sperm parameters among infertile males. Patients Methods: This cross-sectional undertaken on a sample males referring infertility treatment clinic Isfahan prov...

Bindin, a protein component of the acrosomal vesicle of sea urchin sperm, has been isolated from Arbacia punctulata and Strongylocentrotus purpuratus . Using this isolated bindin, we have devised a quantitative assay for bindin-mediated egg agglutination and compared the agglutination of bindin and eggs from A . punctulata and S. purpuratus . Bindin-mediated agglutination is species-specific in...

Bindin, a protein component of the acrosomal vesicle of sea urchin sperm, has been isolated from Arbacia punctulata and strongylocentrous purpuratus. Using this isolated bindin, we have devised a quantitative assay for bindin-mediated egg agglutination and compared the agglutination of bindin eggs from A. puntulata and S. purpuratus. Bindin- mediated agglutination is species -specific in both s...

The structure of the galactan isolated from the albumin gland o f Achatina fulica (African giant snail) was investigated by methylation analyses. The m olecule is highly branched. The linkages o f the exclusively present D-galactose are 1 —► 3 and/or 1 —> 6 . From lectin binding studies it was learnt that the 1 -* 3 linkages possess ^-configuration. The anomeric configuration o f the 1 -» 6 lin...

There are several lectins with anti-H specificity but few of them serve as useful reagents. An anti-H lectin, extracted from the seeds of the plant Momordica dioica Roxb. ex willd., was tested for its hemagglutination and inhibition properties, using standard serologic methods and panel RBCs, serum, saliva, milk, and oligosaccharides purified from milk. The extract displayed strongest agglutina...

Echicetin, a heterodimeric snake C-type lectin from Echis carinatus, is known to bind specifically to platelet glycoprotein (GP)Ib. We now show that, in addition, it agglutinates platelets in plasma and induces platelet signal transduction. The agglutination is caused by binding to a specific protein in plasma. The protein was isolated from plasma and shown to cause platelet agglutination when ...