Regulation of Immune Responses by Lectins. In Lectins

Abstract

Lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins having receptors for recognizing different carbohydrate moieties such as mannose, galactose, rhamnose, fucose, lactose, N-acetyl glucosamine, and N-acetyl galactosamine with specificity. They perform this function with or without the support of divalent cations. Moreover, some lectins can bind erythrocytes and result in agglutination, and, hence called “phytohaemagglutinin.” Lectins are structurally diverse and are present in both plant and animal kingdoms. Lectins participate mainly in innate immune defense in animals by identifying carbohydrate and glycoconjugate moieties in cells and biological fluids. Based on the carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD), lectins can be classified into various groups. The plant lectins are very well studied, while among the animal lectins many groups including fish and shellfish lectins are less studied compared to plant lectins, especially the regulation of lectins.