Wheat germ agglutinin enhances the specific binding of insulin to isolated fat cells and to liver cell membranes at a concentration of about 1 pg per ml. Wheat germ agglutinin increases insulin binding by increasing the rate of insulinreceptor complex formation; the protein does not alter the rate of dissociation of the insulin-membrane complex or the total number of binding sites for insulin. ...

Procedures for the isolation, purification, and crystallization of wheat germ agglutinin are described. The agglutinin was purified 184-fold to homogeneity from commercial wheat germ lipase. A molecular weight of 23,500 was estimated for the protein by means of sedimentation equilibrium and sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. The agghxtinin is a glycoprotein. Amino acid and carbohydrate...

Lectin binding [concanavalin A, biotinylated ricinus communis agglutinin, and biotinylated succinylated wheat germ agglutinin (B-SWGA)] was used to detect the glycosylated proteins associated with a residual protein fraction [insoluble in 4% sodium dodecyl sulfate and termed the nuclear residual fraction (NRF)] or with nuclear matrix preparations from normal rat liver, azo dye (3'-MeDAB)-induce...

Affinity chromatography using agarose-bound lectins was used to isolate erythropoietin from crude preparations of sheep plasma and human urinary erythropoietin. On the basis of previous estimates of the sugar content of the hormone, six lectins (wheat germ agglutinin, phytohemagglutinin, Ricinus communis 120, soybean agglutinin, concanavalin A, and limulin) were chosen for study. Only wheat ger...

The effects of wheat germ agglutinin on Drosophila embryonic cell lines growing on cover-glasses was examined by scanning electron microscopy. At low concentrations of the lectin (5-10 mug/ml), cells spread against the glass surface and fused to form syncytia. At high concentration, damage to the cell surface was evidenced as extensive membrane shrivelling and loss of surface microfilaments. Fu...

A synthetic antigen containing the presumed receptor site for wheat-germ agglutinin (a lectin capable of specifically agglutinating tumor cells) elicits an immune response in mice capable of cross-reacting with receptor sites for wheat-germ agglutinin on tumor-cell surfaces. Mice immunized against the antigen in complete Freund's adjuvant are able to reject five times as many transplanted myelo...

A fluoresceinated lectin binding assay was employed to detect carbohydrates on the sheath and cuticle of mature in vivo-derived, and immature in utero-derived Brugia pahangi microfilariae. The sheath of mature microfilariae bound concanavalin A and wheat germ agglutinin, indicating the presence of N-acetylglucosamine and glucose or mannose. In addition to binding concanavalin A and wheat germ a...

Trichomoniasis is one of the most common parasitic sexually transmitted diseases in the world. Metronidazole was known as the most effective drug for human trichomoniasis., however, drug resistance and toxicity appeared. This study was designed to investigate the in vitro inhibitory activity of wheat germ agglutinin and Nigella sativa aqueous extract on the growth and motility of Trichomonas va...

Coelomocytes represent the immune cells of echinoderms, but detailed knowledge about their roles during immune responses is very limited. One major challenge for studying coelomocyte biology is the lack of reagents to identify and purify distinct populations defined by objective molecular markers rather than by morphology-based classifications that are subjective at times. Glycosylation pattern...

BACKGROUND The pathological classification of cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis has been a matter of debate and controversy for histopathologists. OBJECTIVE To identify and specify the glycotypes of capillary endothelial cells in usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) compared to those found in normal tissue. METHODS Sections of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded blocks from 16 cases of UIP were ...