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Lectins and Lectin Conjugates
Introduction
Working with EY laboratories we are able to supply the world’s largest selection
of lectins, isolated from plant and animal components. Lectins are proteins that
bind to specific carbohydrate groups on proteins or on cell membranes. In
glycobiology, lectins can be used to study glycoproteins due to their specific
binding to the carbohydrate (or glycosylated) section.
It is believed that most lectins consist of non-covalently associated subunits.
This multimeric structure gives lectins their ability to form precipitates with
glycoconjugates or agglutinate cells. However, it can be difficult to detect
Lectins in nature as many do not agglutinate cells at all.
Uses of Lectins
Despite a lack of understanding of these proteins in
nature, lectins are powerful tools allowing researchers to study a wide variety
of biological structures and processes. Even oligosaccharides with identical
sugar compositions can be separated. Lectins vary in their binding requirements,
some will only bind to mannose or glucose residues, others bind only to
galactose residues. Similarly, some lectins require that the sugar residue is in
a particular position in the oligosaccharide, either at a specific end, or in a
terminal position.
Lectins are presently used in the clinical laboratory to
type blood cells. Additionally, there is a wide spectrum of specialist
applications, including:
 As
carriers of chemotherapeutic agents
As
mitogens, for fractionation of animal cells
Investigations
of cellular surfaces
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