Most plant lectins exhibit other properties. Some also bind plant growth regulators, the cytokinins, which are small hydrophobic molecules derivate from adenine [5,6]. They are secreted proteins and are found in vacuoles, cell walls, or intercellular spaces, of just about every plant organ [7]. Legume root lectins, are involved in the recognition and binding of Rhizobium and Brudyrhizobium sp. ...

Studies on lectins are having an increasing impact on medicine, by providing new tools for diagnosis, helping to solve clinical problems, and giving new insights into pathological processes (Lis & Sharon, 1986a, b; Sharon & Lis, 1988). Two early discoveries: that certain lectins are bloodgroup specific while others are mitogenic, have led to their widespread use for blood typing, for assessing ...

The carbohydrate-binding activity of the algal lectins from the closely related red marine algal species Bryothamnion triquetrum (BTL) and Bryothamnion seaforthii (BSL) was used to differentiate human colon carcinoma cell variants with respect to their cell membrane glyco-receptors. These lectins interacted with the cells tested in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the fluorescence spectra of ...

The agglutinating properties of a crude gluten digest, purified gliadin fractions and established plant lectins were investigated using mammalian erythrocytes, rat enterocytes and normal and coeliac human enterocytes as the target systems. Gliadin preparations failed to cause agglutination of any of the cells tested, whereas established pure plant lectins were active cell agglutinins. These stu...

Lectins are proteins of non-immune origin that specifically recognize carbohydrate structures. They are widespread in all kingdoms of life and mediate a variety of biological processes such as viral, bacterial and parasitic infections, growth and differentiation or cancer metastasis [1]. Plant lectins [2], especially those purified from the leguminous family [3], are among the best studied grou...

Bauhinia variegata lectins (BVL-I and BVL-II) are single chain lectins isolated from the plant Bauhinia variegata. Single chain lectins undergo post-translational processing on its N-terminal and C-terminal regions, which determines their physiological targeting, carbohydrate binding activity and pattern of quaternary association. These two lectins are isoforms, BVL-I being highly glycosylated,...

The floor plate is a small group of cells located at the ventral midline of neural tube. During early neurogenesis the floor plate plays critical role (s) in differentiation of ventral portion of neural tube.The purpose of this study was to determine the distribution of glycoconjugates in floor plate as well as underlying mesoderm (notochord) and their inductive activities in mouse embryos.Form...

Background: The aim of this research was to study the distribution and changes of glycoconjugates particularly their terminal sugars by using lectin histochemistry during mouse spinal cord development. Methods: Formalin-fixed sections of mouse embryo (10-16 fetal days) were processed for lectin histochemical method. In this study, two groups of horseradish peroxidase-labeled specific lectins we...

The binding sites of lectins in parathyroid glands were determined by an immunohistochemical method in normal parathyroid gland, hyperplasia, adenoma and carcinoma, the used lectins were commercially available Glycine max (SBA), Concanavalin enciformis (Con A), Triticum vulgaris (WGA), Richinus communis (RCA), Banderiaea simplicifolia II (BSA II) and Arachis hypogaea (PNA). For normal parathyro...

Lectins comprise a heterogeneous class of proteins that recognize the carbohydrate moieties of glycoconjugates with high specificity. Numerous studies have shown that lectins are capable of recognizing specific carbohydrate moieties displayed by malignant cells or tissues. The present work was performed to investigate the effects of tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius) lectins on proliferation, ...