BACKGROUND Influenza virus binds to cell receptors via sialic acid (SA) linked glycoproteins. They recognize SA on host cells through their haemagglutinins (H). The distribution of SA on cell surfaces is one determinant of host tropism and understanding its expression on human cells and tissues is important for understanding influenza pathogenesis. The objective of this study therefore was to o...

The lectin binding characteristics of mouse placental cells were examined. Wax embedded tissue sections of placentae from d 14 pregnant mice were stained with 26 lectins, with a wide range of sugar specificities. Cell cultures prepared from d 14 mouse placentae and cultured for 24 h were stained with 7 of the lectins to determine if they could be used as markers for the different trophoblast ce...

Abstract Factor D (FD) is an essential element of the alternative pathway complement system, and it circulates predominantly in cleaved, activated form blood. In resting blood, mannose-binding lectin–associated serine protease 3 (MASP-3) exclusive activator pro-FD. Similarly to FD, MASP-3 also mainly active form. It was not clear, however, how zymogen activated. To decipher its activation mecha...