The human mannose-binding protein (MBP) is a multimeric serum protein that is divided into three domains: a cysteine-rich NH2-terminal domain that stabilizes the alpha-helix of the second collagen-like domain, and a third COOH-terminal carbohydrate binding region. The function of MBP is unknown, although a role in host defense is suggested by its ability to bind yeast mannans. In this report we...

the binding of drugs by plasma proteins is an important phenomenon, because it influences the size of the free fraction of the drugs in plasma. in this study the influence of dipyridamole (dp) on the protein binding of propranolol (pl) and pl on the protein binding of dp were studied alone and in the presence of nicotine (nc).        the equilibrium dialysis was employed for protein binding stu...

Macrophages express a cell surface receptor which mediates phagocytosis and pinocytosis of particles and solutes containing mannose (fucose and N-acetylglucosamine are also ligands for the receptor). An apparently identical protein has been isolated from human placenta. Proteolytic fragments of the placental receptor were sequenced so that oligonucleotide probes complementary to the receptor cD...

A binding protein from liver which binds reversibly to yeast mannan depending on the presence or absence of calcium has been purified to near homogeneity by affinity chromatography. The binding of the isolated protein to Y-mannan is proportional to protein concentration and is apparently an unsaturable process. The Scatchard plot of the binding is a curvilinear, indicating the presence of a hig...

C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) recognize pathogen-derived ligands and abnormal self that trigger protective immune responses. However, the precise nature of self ligands recognized by CLRs remains to be determined. Here, we found that Dectin-2 recognizes bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) using Dectin-2-expressing reporter cells. This activity was inhibited by an excessive amount of ma...