Weak protein-protein interactions in lectins: the crystal structure of a vegetative lectin from the legume Dolichos biflorus

Research advances and prospects of legume lectins

Lectins are widely distributed proteins having ability of binding selectively and reversibly with carbohydrates moieties and glycoconjugates. Although lectins have been reported from different biological sources, the legume lectins are the best-characterized family of plant lectins. Legume lectins are a large family of homologous proteins with considerable similarity in amino acid sequence and their tertiary structures. Despite having strong sequence conservation, these lectins show remarkable variability in carbohydrate specificity and quaternary structures. The ability of legume lectins in recognizing glycans and glycoconjugates on cells and other intracellular structures make them a valuable research tool in glycomic research. Due to variability in binding with glycans, glycoconjugates and multiple biological functions, legume lectins are the subject of intense research for their diverse application in different fields such as glycobiology, biomedical research and crop improvement. The present review specially focuses on structural and functional characteristics of legume lectins along with their potential areas of application.

Are Dietary Lectins Relevant Allergens in Plant Food Allergy?

Lectins or carbohydrate-binding proteins are widely distributed in seeds and vegetative parts of edible plant species. A few lectins from different fruits and vegetables have been identified as potential food allergens, including wheat agglutinin, hevein (Hev b 6.02) from the rubber tree and chitinases containing a hevein domain from different fruits and vegetables. However, other well-known lectins from legumes have been demonstrated to behave as potential food allergens taking into account their ability to specifically bind IgE from allergic patients, trigger the degranulation of sensitized basophils, and to elicit interleukin secretion in sensitized people. These allergens include members from the different families of higher plant lectins, including legume lectins, type II ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIP-II), wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), jacalin-related lectins, GNA (Galanthus nivalis agglutinin)-like lectins, and Nictaba-related lectins. Most of these potentially active lectin allergens belong to the group of seed storage proteins (legume lectins), pathogenesis-related protein family PR-3 comprising hevein and class I, II, IV, V, VI, and VII chitinases containing a hevein domain, and type II ribosome-inactivating proteins containing a ricin B-chain domain (RIP-II). In the present review, we present an exhaustive survey of both the structural organization and structural features responsible for the allergenic potency of lectins, with special reference to lectins from dietary plant species/tissues consumed in Western countries.

Dalbergieae lectins: A review of lectins from species of a primitive Papilionoideae (leguminous) tribe

Lectins are (glyco)proteins capable of reversibly binding to specific carbohydrates, thus having various functions and applications. Plant lectins are the best studied, and the Leguminoseae family is highlighted in a number of published works, especially species of the Papilionoideae subfamily. Dalbergieae is one of the tribes in this subfamily comprising 49 genera and over 1300 species. From this tribe, about 26 lectins were studied, among which we can highlight the Arachis hypogaea lectin, widely used in cancer studies. Dalbergieae lectins demonstrate various carbohydrate specificities and biological activities including anti-inflammatory, vasorelaxant, nociceptive, antibacterial, antiviral among others. Structurally, these lectins are quite similar in their three-dimensional folding but present significant differences in oligomerization patterns and in the conservation of carbohydrate-recognition domain. Despite the existence of structural data from some lectins, only sparse literature has reported on this tribe's diversity, not to mention the range of biological effects, determined through specific assays. Therefore, this work will review the most important studies on Dalbergieae lectins and their potential biomedical applications.

Legume Lectins: Proteins with Diverse Applications

Lectins are a diverse class of proteins distributed extensively in nature. Among these proteins; legume lectins display a variety of interesting features including antimicrobial; insecticidal and antitumor activities. Because lectins recognize and bind to specific glycoconjugates present on the surface of cells and intracellular structures; they can serve as potential target molecules for developing practical applications in the fields of food; agriculture; health and pharmaceutical research. This review presents the current knowledge of the main structural characteristics of legume lectins and the relationship of structure to the exhibited specificities; provides an overview of their particular antimicrobial; insecticidal and antitumor biological activities and describes possible applications based on the pattern of recognized glyco-targets.

X-ray crystallographic studies of the extracellular domain of the first plant ATP receptor, DORN1, and the orthologous protein from Camelina sativa

Does not respond to nucleotides 1 (DORN1) has recently been identified as the first membrane-integral plant ATP receptor, which is required for ATP-induced calcium response, mitogen-activated protein kinase activation and defense responses in Arabidopsis thaliana. In order to understand DORN1-mediated ATP sensing and signal transduction, crystallization and preliminary X-ray studies were conducted on the extracellular domain of DORN1 (atDORN1-ECD) and that of an orthologous protein, Camelina sativa lectin receptor kinase I.9 (csLecRK-I.9-ECD or csI.9-ECD). A variety of deglycosylation strategies were employed to optimize the glycosylated recombinant atDORN1-ECD for crystallization. In addition, the glycosylated csI.9-ECD protein was crystallized at 291 K. X-ray diffraction data were collected at 4.6 Å resolution from a single crystal. The crystal belonged to space group C222 or C2221, with unit-cell parameters a = 94.7, b = 191.5, c = 302.8 Å. These preliminary studies have laid the foundation for structural determination of the DORN1 and I.9 receptor proteins, which will lead to a better understanding of the perception and function of extracellular ATP in plants.

Bi- to tetravalent glycoclusters presenting GlcNAc/GalNAc as inhibitors: from plant agglutinins to human macrophage galactose-type lectin (CD301) and galectins

Emerging insights into the functional spectrum of tissue lectins leads to identification of new targets for the custom-made design of potent inhibitors, providing a challenge for synthetic chemistry. The affinity and selectivity of a carbohydrate ligand for a lectin may immensely be increased by a number of approaches, which includes varying geometrical or topological features. This perspective leads to the design and synthesis of glycoclusters and their testing using assays of physiological relevance. Herein, hydroquinone, resorcinol, benzene-1,3,5-triol and tetra(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethene have been employed as scaffolds and propargyl derivatives obtained. The triazole-containing linker to the α/β-O/S-glycosides of GlcNAc/GalNAc presented on these scaffolds was generated by copper-catalysed azide-alkyne cycloaddition. This strategy was used to give a panel of nine glycoclusters with bi-, tri- and tetravalency. Maintained activity for lectin binding after conjugation was ascertained for both sugars in solid-phase assays with the plant agglutinins WGA (GlcNAc) and DBA (GalNAc). Absence of cross-reactivity excluded any carbohydrate-independent reactivity of the bivalent compounds, allowing us to proceed to further testing with a biomedically relevant lectin specific for GalNAc. Macrophage galactose(-binding C)-type lectin, involved in immune defence by dendritic cells and in virus uptake, was produced as a soluble protein without/with its α-helical coiled-coil stalk region. Binding to ligands presented on a matrix and on cell surfaces was highly susceptible to the presence of the tetravalent inhibitor derived from the tetraphenylethene-containing scaffold, and presentation of GalNAc with an α-thioglycosidic linkage proved favorable. Cross-reactivity of this glycocluster to human galectins-3 and -4, which interact with Tn-antigen-presenting mucins, was rather small. Evidently, the valency and spatial display of α-GalNAc residues is a key factor to design potent and selective inhibitors for this lectin.

High-resolution structure of a new Tn antigen-binding lectin from Vatairea macrocarpa and a comparative analysis of Tn-binding legume lectins

Plant lectins have been studied as histological markers and promising antineoplastic molecules for a long time, and structural characterization of different lectins bound to specific cancer epitopes has been carried out successfully. The crystal structures of Vatairea macrocarpa (VML) seed lectin in complex with GalNAc-α-O-Ser (Tn antigen) and GalNAc have been determined at the resolution of 1.4Å and 1.7Å, respectively. Molecular docking analysis of this new structure and other Tn-binding legume lectins to O-mucin fragments differently decorated with this antigen provides a comparative binding profile among these proteins, stressing that subtle alterations that may not influence monosaccharide binding can, nonetheless, directly impact the ability of these lectins to recognize naturally occurring antigens. In addition to the specific biological effects of VML, the structural and binding similarities between it and other lectins commonly used as histological markers (e.g., VVLB4 and SBA) strongly suggest VML as a candidate tool for cancer research.

Affinity of a galactose-specific legume lectin from Dolichos lablab to adenine revealed by X-ray cystallography

Crystal structure analysis of a galactose-specific lectin from a leguminous food crop Dolichos lablab (Indian lablab beans) has been carried out to obtain insights into its quaternary association and lectin-carbohydrate interactions. The analysis led to the identification of adenine binding sites at the dimeric interfaces of the heterotetrameric lectin. Structural details of similar adenine binding were reported in only one legume lectin, Dolichos biflorus, before this study. Here, we present the structure of the galactose-binding D. lablab lectin at different pH values in the native form and in complex with galactose and adenine. This first structure report on this lectin also provides a high resolution atomic view of legume lectin-adenine interactions. The tetramer has two canonical and two DB58-like interfaces. The binding of adenine, a non-carbohydrate ligand, is found to occur at four hydrophobic sites at the core of the tetramer at the DB58-like dimeric interfaces and does not interfere with the carbohydrate-binding site. To support the crystallographic observations, the adenine binding was further quantified by carrying out isothermal calorimetric titration. By this method, we not only estimated the affinity of the lectin to adenine but also showed that adenine binds with negative cooperativity in solution.

Comprehensive list of lectins: origins, natures, and carbohydrate specificities

More than 100 years have passed since the first lectin ricin was discovered. Since then, a wide variety of lectins (lect means "select" in Latin) have been isolated from plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, as well as viruses, and their structures and properties have been characterized. At present, as many as 48 protein scaffolds have been identified as functional lectins from the viewpoint of three-dimensional structures as described in this chapter. In this chapter, representative 53 lectins are selected, and their major properties that include hemagglutinating activity, mitogen activity, blood group specificity, molecular weight, metal requirement, and sugar specificities are summarized as a comprehensive table. The list will provide a practically useful, comprehensive list for not only experienced lectin users but also many other non-expert researchers, who are not familiar to lectins and, therefore, have no access to advanced lectin biotechnologies described in other chapters.

Isolation and antiproliferative activity of Lotus corniculatus lectin towards human tumour cell lines

The objective of the study was to investigate the anti cancer activity of a lectin isolated from Lotus corniculatus seeds. A tetrameric 70kDa galactose specific lectin was purified using two step simple purification protocol which involved affinity chromatography on AF-BlueHC650M and gel filtration on Sephadex G-100. The lectin was adsorbed on AF-BlueHC650M and desorbed using 1M NaCl in the starting buffer. Gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 yielded a major peak absorbance that gave two bands of 15kDa and 20kDa in SDS PAGE. Hemagglutination activity was completely preserved, when the temperature was in the range of 20-60°C. However, drastic reduction in activity occurred at temperatures above 60°C. Full hemagglutination activity was retained at ambient pH 4-12. Thereafter no activity was observed above pH 13. Hemaglutination of the lectin was inhibited by d-galactose. The lectin showed a strong antiproliferative activity towards human leukemic (THP-1) cancer cells followed by lung cancer (HOP62) cells and HCT116 with an IC50 of 39μg/ml and 50μg/ml and 60μg/ml respectively. Flow cytometry analysis showed an increase in the percentage of cells in sub G0G1 phase confirming that Lotus corniculatus lectin induced apoptosis. Morphological observations showed that Lotus corniculatus lectin (LCL) treated THP-1 cells displayed apparent apoptosis characteristics such as nuclear fragmentation, appearance of membrane enclosed apoptotic bodies and DNA fragmentation. Lotus corniculatus lectin (LCL) effectively inhibits the cell migration in a dose dependent manner as indicated by the wound healing assay.

Structural basis for morpheein-type allosteric regulation of Escherichia coli glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase: equilibrium between inactive hexamer and active dimer

The amino-terminal cysteine of glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase (GlmS) acts as a nucleophile to release and transfer ammonia from glutamine to fructose 6-phosphate through a channel. The crystal structure of the C1A mutant of Escherichia coli GlmS, solved at 2.5 Å resolution, is organized as a hexamer, where the glutaminase domains adopt an inactive conformation. Although the wild-type enzyme is active as a dimer, size exclusion chromatography, dynamic and quasi-elastic light scattering, native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and ultracentrifugation data show that the dimer is in equilibrium with a hexameric state, in vitro and in cellulo. The previously determined structures of the wild-type enzyme, alone or in complex with glucosamine 6-phosphate, are also consistent with a hexameric assembly that is catalytically inactive because the ammonia channel is not formed. The shift of the equilibrium toward the hexameric form in the presence of cyclic glucosamine 6-phosphate, together with the decrease of the specific activity with increasing enzyme concentration, strongly supports product inhibition through hexamer stabilization. Altogether, our data allow us to propose a morpheein model, in which the active dimer can rearrange into a transiently stable form, which has the propensity to form an inactive hexamer. This would account for a physiologically relevant allosteric regulation of E. coli GlmS. Finally, in addition to cyclic glucose 6-phosphate bound at the active site, the hexameric organization of E. coli GlmS enables the binding of another linear sugar molecule. Targeting this sugar-binding site to stabilize the inactive hexameric state is therefore suggested for the development of specific antibacterial inhibitors.

Macromolecular complexes in crystals and solutions

This paper presents a discussion of existing methods for the analysis of macromolecular interactions and complexes in crystal packing. Typical situations and conditions where wrong answers may be obtained in the course of ordinary procedures are presented and discussed. The more general question of what the relationship is between natural (in-solvent) and crystallized assemblies is discussed and researched. A computational analysis suggests that weak interactions with K(d) ≥ 100 µM have a considerable chance of being lost during the course of crystallization. In such instances, crystal packing misrepresents macromolecular complexes and interactions. For as many as 20% of protein dimers in the PDB the likelihood of misrepresentation is estimated to be higher than 50%. Given that weak macromolecular interactions play an important role in many biochemical processes, these results suggest that a complementary noncrystallographic study should be always conducted when inferring structural aspects of weakly bound complexes.

Structural basis of carbohydrate recognition by a Man(alpha1-2)Man-specific lectin from Bowringia milbraedii

The crystal structure of the seed lectin from the tropical legume Bowringia milbraedii was determined in complex with the disaccharide ligand Man(alpha1-2)Man. In solution, the protein exhibits a dynamic dimer-tetramer equilibrium, consistent with the concanavalin A-type tetramer observed in the crystal. Contacts between the tetramers are mediated almost exclusively through the carbohydrate ligand, resulting in a crystal lattice virtually identical to that of the concanavalin-A:Man(alpha1-2)Man complex, even though both proteins have less than 50% sequence identity. The disaccharide binds exclusively in a "downstream" binding mode, with the non-reducing mannose occupying the monosaccharide-binding site. The reducing mannose is bound in a predominantly polar subsite involving Tyr131, Gln218, and Tyr219.

N-linked oligosaccharides as outfitters for glycoprotein folding, form and function

Glycosylation, particularly N-linked glycosylation, profoundly affects protein folding, oligomerization and stability. The increased efficiency of folding of glycosylated proteins could be due to the chaperone-like activity of glycans, which is observed even when the glycan is not attached to the protein. Covalently linked glycans could also facilitate oligomerization by mediating inter-subunit interactions in the protein or stabilizing the oligomer in other ways. Glycosylation also affects the rate of fibril formation in prion proteins: N-glycans reduce the rate of fibril formation, and O-glycans affect the rate either way depending on factors such as position and orientation. It has yet to be determined whether there is any correlation among the sites of glycosylation and the ensuing effect in multiply glycosylated proteins. It is also not apparent whether there is a common pattern in the conservation of glycans in a related family of glycoproteins, but it is evident that glycosylation is a multifaceted post-translational modification. Indeed, glycosylation serves to "outfit" proteins for fold-function balance.

Native crystal structure of a nitric oxide-releasing lectin from the seeds of Canavalia maritima

Here, we report the crystallographic study of a lectin from Canavalia maritima seeds (ConM) and its relaxant activity on vascular smooth muscle, to provide new insights into the understanding of structure/function relationships of this class of proteins. ConM was crystallized and its structure determined by standard molecular replacement techniques. The amino acid residues, previously suggested incorrectly by manual sequencing, have now been determined as I17, I53, S129, S134, G144, S164, P165, S187, V190, S169, T196, and S202. Analysis of the structure indicated a dimer in the asymmetric unit, two metal binding sites per monomer, and loops involved in the molecular oligomerization. These confer 98% similarity between ConM and other previously described lectins, derived from Canavalia ensiformis and Canavalia brasiliensis. Our functional data indicate that ConM exerts a concentration-dependent relaxant action on isolated aortic rings that probably occurs via an interaction with a specific lectin-binding site on the endothelium, resulting in a release of nitric oxide.

Determinants of quaternary association in legume lectins

It is well known that the sequence of amino acids in proteins code for its tertiary structure. It is also known that there exists a relationship between sequence and the quaternary structure of proteins. The question addressed here is whether the nature of quaternary association can be predicted from the sequence, similar to the three-dimensional structure prediction from the sequence. The class of proteins called legume lectins is an interesting model system to investigate this problem, because they have very high sequence and tertiary structure homology, with diverse forms of quaternary association. Hence, we have used legume lectins as a probe in this paper to (1) gain novel insights about the relationship between sequence and quaternary structure; (2) identify the sequence motifs that are characteristic of a given type of quaternary association; and (3) predict the quaternary association from the sequence motif.

Fabrication of quantum dot–lectin conjugates as novel fluorescent probes for microscopic and flow cytometric identification of leukemia cells from normal lymphocytes

The present study describes a synthesis of QD-lectin conjugates and their application for identification of leukaemia cells from normal lymphocytes using fluorescent confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. The results are compared with commercially available FITC-lectin.

Structural Basis of Oligomannose Recognition by the Pterocarpus angolensis Seed Lectin

The crystal structure of a Man/Glc-specific lectin from the seeds of the bloodwood tree (Pterocarpus angolensis), a leguminous plant from central Africa, has been determined in complex with mannose and five manno-oligosaccharides. The lectin contains a classical mannose-specificity loop, but its metal-binding loop resembles that of lectins of unrelated specificity from Ulex europaeus and Maackia amurensis. As a consequence, the interactions with mannose in the primary binding site are conserved, but details of carbohydrate-binding outside the primary binding site differ from those seen in the equivalent carbohydrate complexes of concanavalin A. These observations explain the differences in their respective fine specificity profiles for oligomannoses. While Man(alpha1-3)Man and Man(alpha1-3)[Man(alpha1-6)]Man bind to PAL in low-energy conformations identical with that of ConA, Man(alpha1-6)Man is required to adopt a different conformation. Man(alpha1-2)Man can bind only in a single binding mode, in sharp contrast to ConA, which creates a higher affinity for this disaccharide by allowing two binding modes.

Similarity between Protein–Protein and Protein–Carbohydrate Interactions, Revealed by Two Crystal Structures of Lectins from the Roots of Pokeweed

The roots of pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) are known to contain the lectins designated PL-A, PL-B, PL-C, PL-D1, and PL-D2. Of these lectins, the crystal structures of two PLs, the ligand-free PL-C and the complex of PL-D2 with tri-N-acetylchitotriose, have been determined at 1.8A resolution. The polypeptide chains of PL-C and PL-D2 form three and two repetitive chitin-binding domains, respectively. In the crystal structure of the PL-D2 complex, one trisaccharide molecule is shared mainly between two neighboring molecules related to each other by a crystallographic 2(1)-screw axis, and infinite helical chains of complexed molecules are generated by the sharing of ligand molecules. The crystal structure of PL-C reveals that the molecule is a dimer of two identical subunits, whose polypeptide chains are located in a head-to-tail fashion by a molecular 2-fold axis. Three putative carbohydrate-binding sites in each subunit are located in the dimer interface. The dimerization of PL-C is performed through the hydrophobic interactions between the carbohydrate-binding sites of the opposite domains in the dimer, leading to a distinct dimerization mode from that of wheat-germ agglutinin. Three aromatic residues in each carbohydrate-binding site of PL-C are involved in the dimerization. These residues correspond to the residues that interact mainly with the trisaccharide in the PL-D2 complex and appear to mimic the saccharide residues in the complex. Consequently, the present structure of the PL-C dimer has no room for accommodating carbohydrate. The quaternary structure of PL-C formed through these putative carbohydrate-binding residues may lead to the lack of hemagglutinating activity.

Relationships between degree of binding, cytotoxicity and cytoagglutinating activity of plant-derived agglutinins in normal lymphocytes and cultured leukemic cell lines

PURPOSE

To clarify the relationships between the degree of lectin-cell binding, cytotoxicity and cytoagglutinating activity of plant-derived lectins in normal lymphocytes and cultured leukemic cell lines.

METHODS

Plant lectins with different quaternary structures and saccharide specificity were used: Dolichos biflorus agglutinin (DBA), Soybean agglutinin (SBA) and Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA). The leukemic cell lines used were: Jurkat, MOLT-4, RPMI-8402, HPB-ALL, CCR-HSB-2 and BALL-1 (derived from acute lymphoblastic leukemia); Raji and Daudi (derived from Burkitt's lymphoma); K-562 (derived from myelogenous leukemia). The lectin-cell binding was detected microscopically and fluorimetrically using FITC-conjugated lectins. Cytotoxicity was estimated by the CellTiter-Glo luminescent cell viability assay, and cytoagglutinating activity by a spectrophotometric method.

RESULTS

The binding of DBA and SBA to normal lymphocytes was negligible, while their binding to leukemic cells increased markedly with increasing lectin concentration. Analogous results were obtained for WGA. However, it was found that WGA also interacted to a significant degree with normal lymphocytes. The degree of lectin-cell binding increased in the order: DBA<SBA<WGA. The cytoagglutinating activity and cytotoxicity of lectins increased in the same order. DBA did not exhibit a cytotoxic effect against normal or leukemic cells, and showed a poor cytoagglutinating activity only in MOLT-4, CCR-HSB-2 and BALL-1 cells. SBA exhibited poor cytotoxicity against Jurkat, RPMI-8402, HPB-ALL and CCR-HSB-2 cells, but a well-defined cytotoxicity against Raji and Daudi cells. SBA showed poor cytoagglutinating activity in leukemic cells. In contrast, WGA at concentrations higher than 0.05 microM showed high cytotoxicity against all leukemic cell lines tested as well as against normal lymphocytes. WGA also showed a well-expressed cytoagglutinating effect in all cell lines except normal lymphocytes. There was a moderate inverse correlation between cell viability and the velocity of cytoagglutination ( r=-0.56, P<0.001), and a good correlation between cell viability and the degree of lectin-cell binding ( r=-0.75, P<0.001). There was a low positive correlation between the velocity of cytoagglutination and the degree of lectin-cell binding ( r=0.43, P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that the lectins that bound most strongly to leukemic cells expressed higher cytotoxic and cytoagglutinating activities.

Crystal structure of Pterocarpus angolensis lectin in complex with glucose, sucrose, and turanose

The crystal structure of the Man/Glc-specific seed lectin from Pterocarpus angolensis was determined in complex with methyl-alpha-d-glucose, sucrose, and turanose. The carbohydrate binding site contains a classic Man/Glc type specificity loop. Its metal binding loop on the other hand is of the long type, different from what is observed in other Man/Glc-specific legume lectins. Glucose binding in the primary binding site is reminiscent of the glucose complexes of concanavalin A and lentil lectin. Sucrose is found to be bound in a conformation similar as seen in the binding site of lentil lectin. A direct hydrogen bond between Ser-137(OG) to Fru(O2) in Pterocarpus angolensis lectin replaces a water-mediated interaction in the equivalent complex of lentil lectin. In the turanose complex, the binding site of the first molecule in the asymmetric unit contains the alphaGlc1-3betaFruf form of furanose while the second molecule contains the alphaGlc1-3betaFrup form in its binding site.

Purification of normal lymphocytes from leukemic T-cells by lectin-affinity adsorbents - correlation with lectin-cell binding

Utilization of leukemic T-cells from normal ones, using lectin-affinity adsorbents, is described. CNBr-activated Sepharose 6MB was covalently coupled to Soybean (SBA) or Dolichos Biflorus Agglutinins (DBA), then serves as an affinity probe for separation of leukemic T-cells from normal lymphocytes. The normal lymphocytes were removed almost completely by phosphate buffered saline (Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) free) (PBS(-)) from lectin-affinity column. More than 80% of the leukemic T-cells were retained on the lectin-affinity adsorbent, whereas another 10-15% were easily removed by PBS(-). There was a very good linear correlation between percent of cells, retained on the lectin-affinity adsorbent and percent of cells, interacting with the respective free lectin (r=0.97 for SBA, and r=0.93 for DBA). The viability of normal lymphocytes was not influenced after passing through the columns. In the case of leukemic T-cells - about 90% of the easily removed cells were dead, and another 10% were viable cells, non-interacting with DBA or SBA.

Mimicry of tandem repeat peptides against cell surface carbohydrates

Our approach to multivalent peptide construction relies on tentacle peptides, also known as a multiple antigenic peptides, which contain two and four repeats of a selected peptide. In this communication, we report the results of preliminary studies aimed at (1) the selection of short peptides against the carbohydrate, sLeX, (2) the synthesis of tentacle dimers and tetramers of the selected peptides, and (3) the determination of affinities and specificities of the peptides to several related carbohydrates by using the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and the equilibrium dialysis techniques. Binding affinity studies, as well as assays of in vitro binding of the peptides to a sLeX-specific cell line, have shown that the tetrameric peptides bind to the cell surface sugars.