All research journals like to make an impact in the news media, but preferably for publishing research that is reliable as well as newsworthy. When the Lancet recently blurred the distinction between the two, the press sensed a good story, even in advance. “The scientist who suggested that genetically modified foods could damage health — and was comprehensively rubbished by government ministers...

Duffy antigen is a glycosylated blood group protein acting as a malarial and chemokine receptor. Using glycosylation mutants we have previously demonstrated, that all three potential glycosylation sites of the Duffy antigen are occupied by N-linked oligosaccharide chains. In this study, wild-type Duffy glycoprotein and three mutants, each containing a single N-glycan, were used to characterize ...

The mannose-binding lectin from snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis agglutinin: GNA), when fed to insects, binds to the gut epithelium and passes into the haemolymph. The potential for GNA to act as a carrier protein to deliver an insect neuropeptide, Manduca sexta allatostatin (Manse-AS), to the haemolymph of lepidopteran larvae has been examined by expressing a GNA/Manse-AS fusion protein (FP) in Esc...

Galanthamine hydrobromide (Nivalin), an alkaloid from the bulbs of snowdrops, is widely used in Bulgaria as an antagonist to non-depolarizing muscle relaxants. The pharmacology is reviewed and experiences in the use of galanthamine in 24 patients are described. It is about one-tenth as potent as neostigmine. As changes in pulse rate and blood pressure were slight, it is rarely necessary to inje...

Cell surface lectin staining, examination of Golgi glycosyltransferases stability and localization, and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) analysis were employed to investigate conserved oligomeric Golgi (COG)-dependent glycosylation defects in HeLa cells. Both Griffonia simplicifolia lectin-II and Galanthus nivalus lectins were specifically bound to the plas...

Galanthamine is an Amaryllidaceae alkaloid used to treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. This compound is primarily isolated from daffodil (Narcissus spp.), snowdrop (Galanthus spp.), and summer snowflake (Leucojum aestivum). Despite its importance as a medicine, no genes involved in the biosynthetic pathway of galanthamine have been identified. This absence of genetic information on biosy...

Snowdrop lectin (Galanthus nivalis agglutinin; GNA) has been shown previously to be toxic towards rice brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens; BPH) when administered in artificial diet. BPH feeds by phloem abstraction, and causes 'hopper burn', as well as being an important virus vector. To evaluate the potential of the gna gene to confer resistance towards BPH, transgenic rice (Oryza sativa L.)...

An investigation of the sugar groups on recombinant human TSH receptors (TSHR) expressed in CHO-K1 cells and solubilized with detergents is described. Western blotting studies with TSHR monoclonal antibodies showed that the receptor was present principally as two bands with approximate molecular masses of 120 and 100 kDa. Further blotting studies using lectins and/or involving treatment with di...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder associated with memory impairment and cognitive deficit, which is characterized with low levels of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter, in the brain of the patients. Histopathological hallmarks of AD include deposition of -amyloid (A ) plaques and formation of neurofibrillary tangles. According to the cholinergic hypothesis, the...