Site of hemolymph lectin production and its activation in vitro by 20-hydroxyecdysone

To identify the tissues which produce hemolymph lectin in larvae of Bombyx mori, ovary, testis, fat body, and hemocytes from 5th-instar larvae were cultured in vitro and the culture medium was partially purified and assayed for hemagglutinating activity. Among the tissues tested, hemocytes appeared to be a major source of the hemolymph lectins. Ovary produced lectins to about one-tenth of the amount observed for the hemocytes, whereas testis and fat body were not productive. To study the hormonal control of hemolymph lectin production by hemocytes, hemocytes from 4th-instar larvae were cultured in vitro. Hemagglutinating activity in the hemolymph of 4th-instar larvae was immunostainable with the monoclonal antibody raised against 350,000 dalton lectin found in the 5th-instar hemolymph, but their molecular sizes were larger than the 5th-instar hemolymph lectins. When 20-hydroxyecdysone was added into the medium, production of the lectin by the hemocytes was remarkably enhanced, depending upon the hormone concentration.     

Purification and characterization of a lectin from the beetle, Allomyrina dichotoma

A lectin was purified from the hemolymph of Allomyrina dichotoma larvae by affinity chromatography on acid-treated Sepharose 4B. The purified lectin showed two protein bands on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These two lectin bands (allo A-I and -II) were separated by DEAE-Cellulofine column chromatography. By gel filtration on Sephadex G-100, the molecular weights of allo A-I and -II were estimated to be 65,000 and 66,500, respectively. On the other hand, by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis after cross-linking of subunits with glutaraldehyde, they are estimated to be 38,000 and 39,000, respectively. On SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, it was proved that both allo A-I and -II lectin consisted of two subunits, respectively. The molecular weights were 17,500 and 20,000 for allo A-I, and 19,000 and 20,000 for allo A-II. The isoelectric points of allo A-I and -II were estimated to be 6.4 and 5.9, respectively. On double immunodiffusion, allo A-I and -II gave single precipitin lines, which fused completely with each other, against the antibody to crude allo A. The hemagglutinating activity of allo A-I and -II was inhibited only by beta-linked D-galactose such as lactose and lactulose.     

粘虫幼虫血淋巴中的凝集素

粘虫Mythlmna separata Walker幼虫血淋巴中含有凝集某些脊椎动物红细胞的凝集素,凝集活性可被乳糖、岩藻糖或神经氨酸抑制.用CNBr-sepharose 4B 进行亲和层析从血淋巴中分离的凝集素成分比较复杂,聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳显示三条区带,SDS聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳出现6个亚基,亚基分子量分别为71000、65000、56000、35000、33000及31000道尔顿.     

Isolation and Characterization of a Sialic Acid-specific Lectin from Hemolymph of the Southeast Asian Horseshoe Crab Tachypleus gigas

A lectin was isolated from hemolymph of the Southeast Asian horseshoe crab Tachypleus gigas by using glycophorin HA affinity chromatography and Sephacryl S-300 gel filtration. The purified lectin had a molecular mass of approximately 396 kDa and was composed of 13 identical subunits with molecular masses of 31 kDa. The serological specificity of the purified lectin was specifically inhibited by sialic acids sialoglycoproteins, but not by neutral sugars, hexosamines, N-acetylhexosamines, or asialoglycoproteins. Although the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the lectin from T. gigas was identical to that from American horseshoe crab (liphemin) by the same purification method and cross reacted with the anti-liphemin serum, the calcium concentration of hemagglutinating activity of the purified lectin showed a smaller optimal concentration than that of liphemin.     

Occurrence of Lectin in the Silkgland of the Silkworm, Bombyx mori

Monoclonal antibodies were prepared against the 350 kDa lectin purified from larval hemolymph of the silkworm, Bombyx mori . The antibodies inhibited the hemagglutinating activity (HA activity) and bound specifically to the hemolymph 350 kDa lectin on Western blotting analysis. Immunohistological observations revealed the occurrence of lectin in the cuticular intima of the anterior silk gland, but not the middle or posterior silk glands of fifth instar larvae of Bombyx mori . Extracts from the anterior silk glands showed HA activity and exhibited the same biochemical characteristics as those of the 350 kDa lectin in the hemolymph. These results suggested that lectin-like molecules in epithelial tissues may be important in histolysis during molting and metamorphosis.     

Purification of a lectin from the hemolymph of Chinese oak silk moth (Antheraea pernyi) pupae

A lectin with affinity to galactose was purified to homogeneity from the hemolymph of diapausing pupae of the Chinese oak silk moth, Anteraea pernyi. The molecular mass of this lectin was 380,000 and it formed an oligomeric structure of a subunit with a molecular mass of 38,000. The hemagglutinating activity in the hemolymph was found to increase with time after immunization with E. coli. Studies with antibody against the purified lectin showed that increase in the hemagglutinating activity was due to the same lectin, suggesting that the amount of the lectin increased in response to intrusion of foreign substances. The function of this lectin in the defence mechanism is discussed.     

Isolation of cDNA clones coding for humoral lectin of silkworm, Bombyx mori, larvae.

In the hemolymph of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, lectin with hemagglutinating activity against sheep red blood cells increases at larval-larval ecdysis and at spinning stage (Suzuki and Natori, 1983) and is induced by infection with cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus. A Bombyx lectin polypeptide with molecular weight approx 280K is responsible for hemagglutinating activity, since antiserum raised against this polypeptide inhibited hemagglutinating activity. The site of synthesis of Bombyx lectin was determined by primary tissue cultures of fat body and hemocytes. A hemagglutinating activity assay demonstrated that hemocyte is responsible for the release of hemagglutinin into the culture medium. Isolation of cDNA clones coding for Bombyx lectin was carried out on the cDNA library prepared in an expression vector lambda gt11 starting with poly(A)+ RNA from spinning larval hemocytes. As a result of immunoscreening, several positive clones were obtained, and the cDNA clones were characterized.     

Cloning and sequencing of cDNA of Sarcophaga peregrina humoral lectin induced on injury of the body wall

A previous paper described the purification of a lectin induced in the hemolymph of larvae of Sarcophaga peregrina (flesh-fly) on injury of their body wall (Komano, H., Mizuno, D., and Natori, S. (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 2919-2924). This paper describes cDNA cloning and the complete nucleotide sequence of the gene for Sarcophaga lectin. Although active lectin consists of alpha and beta subunits in a molar ratio of 2:1, the fat body of injured larvae was found to contain only mRNA for the alpha subunit, suggesting that these two subunits are derived from a common gene and that the alpha subunit is converted to the beta subunit post-translationally. The alpha subunit was found to consist of 260 amino acid residues with an additional signal sequence of 19 or 23 amino acid residues.     

Isolation of a new heterodimeric lectin with mitogenic activity from fruiting bodies of the mushroom Agrocybe cylindracea

From the dried fruiting bodies of the mushroom Agrocybe cylindracea a heterodimeric lectin with a molecular weight of 31.5 kDa and displaying high hemagglutinating activity was isolated. The molecular weights of its subunits were 16.1 kDa and 15.3 kDa respectively. The larger and the smaller subunits resembled Agaricus bisporus lectin and fungal immunomodulatory protein from Volvariella volvacea respectively in N-terminal sequence. The lectin was adsorbed on DEAE-cellulose in 10 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.4) and was eluted by the same buffer containing 150 mM NaCl. It was adsorbed on SP-Sepharose in 10 mM NH4OAc (pH 4.5) and eluted by approximately 0.19 M NaCl in the same buffer. The lectin was obtained in a purified form after the mushroom extract had been subjected to (NH4)2SO4 precipitation and the two aforementioned ion exchange chromatographic steps. The lectin exhibited potent mitogenic activity toward mouse splenocytes. The hemagglutinating activity of the lectin was inhibited by lactose, sialic acid and inulin.     

棕尾别麻蝇(Sarcophaga peregrina)幼虫与蛹血淋巴凝集素的纯化与特性

用亲和层析法纯化了棕尾别麻蝇幼虫和蛹血淋巴凝集素。以兔红细胞吸附幼虫血淋巴凝集素为抗原制备的抗体、球球蛋白和甲状腺蛋白等三种亲和层析吸附剂纯化得到的幼虫凝集素是相同的,其分子量73kD左右。用甲状腺球蛋白为亲和配基纯化的蛹血淋巴凝集素由二种亚基组成,其分子量分别为30和32kD。幼虫和蛹血淋巴凝集素活性的抑制糖明显不同：乳糖、岩藻糖和N－乙酰半乳糖胺对幼虫血淋巴凝集素活性有抑制作用;而甘露糖胺、半乳糖胺和葡萄糖胺则对蛹血淋巴集素有一定抑制。而且,用兔红细胞吸附幼虫血淋巴凝集素为抗原制备的抗血清对蛹的凝集素活性无交叉反应,表明这两种凝集素是不相同的。虽然本文所纯化的麻蝇蛹血淋巴凝集素的分子量和Komano等报道的麻蝇蛹以及幼虫体壁 伤害诱导的凝集素SPL相同,但其糖的抑制特性有明显差异。     

Purification and characterization of a lectin from the banana shrimp Fenneropenaeus merguiensis hemolymph

A lectin from the hemolymph of the banana shrimp Fenneropenaeus merguiensis was purified by affinity chromatography on a fetuin-agarose column following by gel filtration on a Superose-12 column. The native molecular mass of purified F. merguiensis lectin (FmL) determined by gel filtration was 316.2 kDa and its carbohydrate content was estimated to be 4.4%. By SDS-PAGE analysis, purified FmL consisted of 32.3 kDa and 30.9 kDa subunits. These data suggest that this lectin is an oligomer. Two-dimensional electrophoresis showed that it had a pI value of 6.0 and was mainly composed of glycine, serine, histidine, glutamic acids and glutamine, with relatively lower amounts of methionine and tyrosine. Purified FmL expressed higher agglutination activity against rabbit and rat erythrocytes than with those from human, and its activity was Ca(2+)-dependent. The hemagglutinating activity of FmL was stable up to 55 degrees C and at pH 7.5-8. N-acetylated sugars, such as ManNAc, GlcNAc, GalNAc, and NeuNAc were strong inhibitors of the FmL induced hemagglutinating activity with NeuNAc being most effective. Porcine stomach mucin and fetuin were the most potent inhibitors of FmL. Purified FmL caused selective agglutination of Vibrio harveyi, and Vibrio parahemolyticus both pathogens of this Penaeus species and to a lesser extent Vibrio vulnificus but had no effect on the non-pathogenic strains; Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella typhi and Escherichia coli. Its bacterial agglutination was also completely inhibited by NeuNAc, mucin, fetuin and also anti-FmL antibody. This observation indicates that FmL may contribute to the defense response of this species of penaeid shrimps to potentially pathogenic bacteria.     

泥蚶(Tegillarca granosa Linnaeus)血淋巴液凝集素的分离纯化及其性质研究

泥蚶是一种重要的海产经济贝类,其血淋巴液经硫酸铵二步分级沉淀后,再经Sephadex G- 100凝胶过滤和Sepharose 4B亲和层析纯化制得泥蚶血淋巴液凝集素。经测定,该凝集素分子量约为123Kda,为两个亚基的蛋白质,其相对分子量分别为15 KDa和16 KDa,分子中含5．02％的糖。在氨基酸组成中,天门冬氨酸(Asp)含量最高,其次是谷氨酸(Glu)和组氨酸(His),不含蛋氨酸(Met)。泥蚶血淋巴液凝集素对多种天然或经酶修饰的人或动物红细胞具有不同的凝集作用,其中对兔红细胞的凝集活性最大。半乳糖和乳糖对其凝集活性具有抑制作用。凝集活性依赖于Ca2 ,在pH7．0较稳定,热稳定性不高,在30℃-70℃时凝集效价由原来的25下降为21,当温度超过80℃以后,凝血活性完全丧失。     

Isolation and characterization of Dorin M, a lectin from plasma of the soft tick Ornithodoros moubata

A lectin with high hemagglutinating activity, which we have named Dorin M, was identified in the plasma of the soft tick Ornithodoros moubata. The activity of the plasma lectin could be efficiently inhibited by sialic acid, N-acetyl-D-hexosamines and sialoglycoproteins. Dorin M was purified to homogeneity using two different isolation systems: affinity chromatography on a column of bovine submaxillary mucin conjugated to Sepharose 4B with specific elution by N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and chromatography on Blue-Sepharose followed by anion exchange FPLC on a MonoQ column. The purified lectin is a glycoprotein which, in the native state, forms aggregates with molecular mass of about 640 kDa. Non-reducing SDS PAGE revealed that the lectin consists of two noncovalently bound subunits migrating closely around 37 kDa. Dorin M is a glycoprotein, probably modified by N-type glycosylation. After chemical deglycosylation, only one band of about 32 kDa was detected. Dorin M is the first lectin purified from ticks.     

Purification and characterization of a lectin from the mushroom, Flammulina veltipes

A lectin was purified to homogeneity from the mushroom, Flammulina veltipes, by zinc acetate treatment and CM-cellulose column chromatography. Its molecular weight was estimated to be 20,000 by gel filtration and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The lectin does not contain carbohydrate, half-cystine, methionine, or histidine. On gel filtration sith Sepharose 6B in the presence of 6M guanidine-HCl, the purified lectin dissociated into two nonidentical subunits, FVA-L (molecular weight, 12,000) and FVA-S (8,000). The hemagglutinating activity was retained only in the FVA-L subunit. The lectin is mitogenic with respect to mouse spleen lymphocytes.     

Purification and Properties of a Lectin from the Fruitbodies of Flammulina velutipes

A lectin was purified to homogeneity from the fruitbodies of Flammulina velutipes by conventional purification procedures. The purified lectin was demonstrated to be a dimeric protein consisting of two identical subunits with an apparent molecular mass of 11 kDa. The lectin was an acidic protein with a pI value of 5.4, and devoid of cysteine, methionine, and histidine as amino acid constituents. Its hemagglutinating activity was totally unaffected by mono- and oligosaccharides and glycosides, but inhibited by some desialylated glycoproteins. Immunological assays revealed that no protein cross-reacting with rabbit anti-i⁷. velutipes lectin antibody was apparently present in vegetatively growing mycelia but was distributed throughout the fruitbody at different concentrations.     

Purification and characterization of a lectin from rice bran

A rice bran lectin was purified to homogeneity by precipitation with ammonium sulfate and chromatography on ovomucoid-Sepharose and CM-cellulose. The molecular weight of the dimer lectin was estimated to be around 37,000 by ultracentrifugation studies. The sedimentation coefficient was 3.8S. On Sepharose 6B gel filtration in the presence of 6 M guanidine-HCl, the lectin showed a molecular weight of 19,000. On reduction and carboxymethylation, the lectin further dissociated into two nonidentical subunits, with molecular weights of about 11,000 and 8,000. These subunits did not show hemagglutinating activity. Equilibrium dialysis experiments using N-acetyl-[1-14C]glucosamine indicated that about 1.8 mol of the sugar was bound to 19,000 g of the lectin. The lectin was mitogenic against mouse splenic lymphocytes and human peripheral lymphocytes. The lectin enhanced the rate of glucose oxidation and inhibited epinephrine-stimulated lipolysis in mouse adipocytes. Some characteristics of the lectin are compared with those of wheat germ agglutinin.     

岩豆(Millettia dielsiana Harms ex Diels)凝集素的分离纯化和性质研究

用猪甲状腺球蛋白-Sepharose 4B作亲和吸附剂,再经Sephadex G-100凝胶过滤,可以从岩豆种子中纯化出岩豆凝集素(MDL)。该凝集素可以凝集人类A、B、O型血细胞和兔红细胞,纯化的MDL凝集兔红细胞的能力可被D-松三糖、邻硝基-苯酚-D-半乳糖和N-乙酰半乳糖胺抑制,甘露糖也有弱的抑制作用。纯化的MDL在PAGE和SDS-PAGE上均显现单一蛋白质染色带,经Schiff’s试剂染色证明为糖蛋白;以酚-硫酸法测得其中性糖含量为6.0％;SDS-PAGE测得亚基分子量为32 000;Sephadex G-100分子筛柱测得其分子量为63 800;等电聚焦电泳显示其等电点为5.1;氨基酸组成分析表明其中Asp、Glu、Phe含量较高,但不含有Pro、Tyr。MDL也是一个强促有丝分裂原,对人外周血淋巴细胞转化率可达81.2％,细胞分裂比率达14.8％。     

Purification of sarcotoxin III, a new antibacterial protein of Sarcophaga peregrina

A glycine-rich antibacterial protein with a molecular mass of 7,000 termed sarcotoxin III, was purified to homogeneity from the hemolymph of third instar larvae of Sarcophaga peregrina. When the hemolymph was fractionated, this protein was recovered in the same fraction as sarcotoxin I, a group of potent antibacterial proteins that have been purified. But, it was clearly different from sarcotoxin I in amino acid composition and molecular mass. Sarcotoxin III was shown to be induced in the hemolymph in response to injury of the larval body wall.     

Anti-tumor factor in insects' hemolymph

We have purified a lectin from the hemolymph of Sarcophaga peregrina larvae, obtained after injury of their body wall. This lectin recognizes galactose residues and suggested to be involved in the defense mechanism of this insect. We also demonstrated that this lectin induced cytotoxic effects on tumor cells in the presence of murine macrophages. It was found that the murine macrophages had Sarcophaga lectin binding proteins. Using pupal hemocytes and fatbody of this insect, we established an in vitro system that mimics dissociation of the fatbody in vivo. New membrane protein, induced on the surface of the hemocytes at pupation, suggested to participate in the recognition of the fatbody.     

A novel lectin from the wild mushroom Polyporus adusta

A lectin with antiproliferative activity toward tumor cell lines and mitogenic activity toward splenocytes was isolated from the mushroom Polyporus adusta. The lectin was composed of two identical subunits each with a molecular weight of 12 kDa. It was adsorbed on both DEAE-cellulose and Q-Sepharose and unadsorbed on CM-Sepharose. The hemagglutinating activity of the lectin was inhibited by turanose and by a large variety of other carbohydrates. It was adversely affected in the presence of NaOH or HCl at a concentration of 7.5mM and above, and when the ambient temperature was raised above 70 degrees C. All divalent and trivalent metallic chlorides tested at 1.25-10mM including CaCl(2), MgCl(2), ZnCl(2), MnCl(2), and AlCl(3), did not alter the hemagglutinating activity of the lectin. FeCl(3) at 10mM caused the hemagglutinating activity to increase by 100%, but it did not change the lectin activity when tested at lower concentrations up to 5mM.