Mannose-binding lectin is a central molecule of the innate immune system. Mannose-binding lectin 2 promoter polymorphisms and structural variants have been associated with susceptibility to tuberculosis. However, contradictory results among different populations have been reported, resulting in no convincing evidence of association between mannose-binding lectin 2 and susceptibility to tubercul...

Drosophila melanogaster has long been used as a model for the molecular genetics of innate immunity. Such work has uncovered several immune receptors that recognize bacterial and fungal pathogens by binding unique components of their cell walls and membranes. Drosophila also act as hosts to metazoan pathogens such as parasitic wasps, which can infect a majority of individuals in natural populat...

[Letter]. Lancet 1998;352:959–60. 3. Madsen HO, Garred P, Thiel S, Kurtzhals J, Lamm LU, Ryder LP, et al A. Interplay between promoter and structural gene variants control basal serum level of mannan-binding protein. J Immunol 1995;155:3013–20. 4. Madsen HO, Satz ML, Hogh B, Svejgaard A, Garred P. Different molecular events result in low protein levels of mannan-binding lectin in populations fr...

multiple sclerosis (ms) is a complex, demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (cns) with variable phenotypic presentations, while guillain-barre syndrome (gbs) is the prototypic acute inflammatory disorder that affects the peripheral nervous system. myasthenia gravis (mg) is a t cell dependent and antibody mediated autoimmune disease. although it has been shown that complement plays...

Purpose: The mannose-binding lectin pathway of innate immunity is part of the first line of defense against microorganisms. Variations in mannose-binding lectin levels or activity are caused by single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the promoter region. Mannosebinding lectin may play a role as a phase reactant due to inflammatory processes related to cancer disease. Such inflammatory processes are ...

The endogenous beta-D-galactoside-binding lectins of UV-2237-IP3 fibrosarcoma cells consist of two polypeptides with molecular weights of 14,500 (L-14.5) and 34,000 (L-34). Recently we constructed complementary DNA (cDNA) libraries from these cells in the expression vector lambda gt11 and isolated and characterized cDNA clones encoding the two lectin species (A. Raz et al., Exp. Cell Res., 173:...

Lectins are a diverse group of ubiquitously present, highly specific sugar-binding proteins. Members of this large gene family have been assigned broad biological functions from defense to acting as storage proteins. Despite possessing several interesting characteristics, their functions remain essentially undefined. Mulberry ( spp.) known for its medicinal benefits is also a rich source of lec...

Lectins exist widely in marine bioresources such as bacteria, algae, invertebrate animals and fishes. Some purified marine lectins have been found to elicit cytotoxicity to cancer cells. However, there are few reports describing the cytotoxic effect of marine lectins on cancer cells through virus-mediated gene delivery. We show here that a replication-deficient adenovirus-carrying gene encoding...