Fungal Lectins: Current Molecular and Biochemical Perspectives

Maternal immunity refers to the immunity transferred from mother to offspring via egg, playing an important role in protecting the offspring at early life stages and contributing a trans-generational effect on offspring’s phenotype. Because fertilization is external in most of the molluscs, oocytes and early embryos are directly exposed to pathogens in the seawater, and thus maternal immunity could provide a better protection before full maturation of their immunological systems. Several innate immune factors including pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) like lectins, and immune effectors like lysozyme, lipopolysaccharide binding protein/bacterial permeability-increasing proteins (LBP/BPI) and antioxidant enzymes have been identified as maternally derived immune factors in mollusc eggs. Among these immune factors, some maternally derived lectins and antibacterial factors have been proved to endue mollusc eggs with effective defense ability against pathogen infection, while the roles of other factors still remain untested. The physiological condition of mollusc broodstock has a profound effect on their offspring fitness. Many other factors such as nutrients, pathogens, environment conditions and pollutants could exert considerable influence on the maternal transfer of immunity. The parent molluscs which have encountered an immune stimulation endow their offspring with a trans-generational immune capability to protect them against infections effectively. The knowledge on maternal transfer of immunity and the trans-generational immune effect could provide us with an ideal management strategy of mollusc broodstock to improve the immunity of offspring and to establish a disease-resistant family for a long-term improvement of cultured stocks.

Maternal immune transfer in mollusc.

Purification, characterization and bioactivity of polysaccharides from Glossaulax didyma.

The hemagglutination assay is a simple and easy method to obtain semi-quantitative data on the sugar binding and specificity of a lectin. An active lectin agglutinates erythrocytes by recognizing a carbohydrate on the cell surface and forming a cross-linked network in suspension. By serially diluting the lectin in a 96-well microtiter plate and adding a constant quantity of erythrocytes, the lectin activity can be estimated.

Hemagglutination (inhibition) assay.

A divalent cation-independent 16 kDa d-galactose binding lectin (AKL-2) was isolated from eggs of sea hare, Aplysia kurodai. The lectin recognized d-galactose and d-galacturonic acid and had a 32 kDa dimer consisting of two disulfide-bonded 16 kDa subunits. Eighteen N-terminus amino acids were identified by Edman degradation, having unique primary structure. Lectin blotting analysis with horseradish peroxidase-conjugated lectins has shown that AKL-2 was a glycoprotein with complex type oligosaccharides with N-acetyl d-glucosamine and mannose at non-reducing terminal. Two protein bands with 38 and 36 kDa in the crude extract of sea hare eggs after purification of the lectin was isolated by AKL-2-conjugated Sepharose column and elution with 0.1 M lactose containing buffer. It suggested that the lectin binds with an endogenous ligand in the eggs. AKL-2 kept extreme stability on haemagglutination activity if it was treated at pH 3 and 70 °C for 1 h. Glycan binding profile of AKL-2 by frontal affinity chromatography technology using 15 pyridylamine labeled oligosaccharides has been appeared that the lectin uniquely recognized globotriose (Galα1-4Galβ1-4Glc; Gb3) in addition to bi-antennary complex type N-linked oligosaccharides with N-acetyllactosamine. Surface plasmon resonance analysis of AKL-2 against a neo-glycoprotein, Gb3-human serum albumin showed the kass and kdiss values are 2.4 × 103 M−1 s−1 and 3.8 × 10−3 s−1, respectively. AKL-2 appeared cytotoxicity against both Burkitt’s lymphoma Raji cell and erythroleukemia K562. The activity to Raji by the lectin was preferably cancelled by the co-presence of melibiose mimicing Gb3. On the other hand, K562 was cancelled effectively by lactose than melibiose. It elucidated that AKL-2 had cytotoxic ability mediated glycans structure to cultured cells.

Cytotoxicity and Glycan-Binding Profile of a d -Galactose-Binding Lectin from the Eggs of a Japanese Sea Hare ( Aplysia kurodai )

A lectin was purified from Japanese sea hare Aplysia kurodai by lactosyl-agarose affinity chromatography. The molecular mass of the lectin was determined to be 56 and 32 kDa by SDS-PAGE under non-reducing and reducing conditions, respectively. It was found to agglutinate trypsinized and glutaraldehyde-fixed rabbit and human erythrocytes in the absence of divalent cations. The lectin exhibited stable thermo-tolerance as it retained hemagglutinating activity for 1 h even at 80°C and showed stability at pH 10. By contrast, it was very sensitive at pH less than 5 and in the presence of the sulfhydryl-group preserving reagent, β-mercaptoethanol. The hemagglutinating activity by the lectin was specifically inhibited by D-galactose, galacturonic acid, methyl-α- and methyl-β-D-galactopyranoside, lactose, melibiose, and asialofetuin. The association rate constant (k
 ass) and dissociation rate constant (k
 diss) were determined for the lectin to be 4.3·105 M−1·sec−1 and 2.2·10−3 sec−1, respectively, using a surface plasmon resonance biosensor. The lectin moderately inhibited cell proliferation in the P388 cell line dose dependently. Interestingly, lectin-treated cells did not show a fragmented DNA ladder as is caused by apoptosis, suggesting that the cell proliferation inhibition was caused by another unknown mechanism.

N. Kojima

Papers

Purification and biochemical characterization of a D-galactose binding lectin from Japanese sea hare (Aplysia kurodai) eggs.

Purification and Characterization of a D-Galactoside-Binding Lectin Purified from Bladder Moon Shell (Glossaulax didyma Roding)