BACKGROUND Ectopic expression of gastric intrinsic factor (IF) has been described in rodent models of chronic gastritis. AIMS The current study undertook to determine if ectopic IF was also present in chronic gastritis in humans and might identify the process of ectopic protein expression as part of the response to chronic injury. METHODS Archived biopsies from mid-body, angularis and prepylorus of 9 patients with and without chronic gastritis and food-cobalamin malabsorption were examined in a blinded fashion by immunocytochemistry as were biopsies from 5 normal subjects. Cells with ectopic IF were further examined with antibodies against pepsin or with Griffonia simplicifolia II (GSII) to identity cells in the mucous neck cell compartment. RESULTS Ectopic IF production in non-parietal cells was identified in cells that were H(+),K(+)-ATPase-negative but IF-positive in 7 of the 9 patients (6/9 in the angularis and/or prepylorus biopsies and 1/9 only in the mid-body). These included 5 of the 6 H. pylori-infected patients and all 5 patients with severe food-cobalamin malabsorption. No normal control subjects demonstrated ectopic IF. The cells with ectopic IF were pepsinogen-positive peptic cells and were not GSII-positive. Expression was most extensive in patients and gastric regions with inflammation. In all but one sample, ectopic IF was observed near anatomical mucosal junctions, such as antral/body and prepylorus/duodenum junctions. CONCLUSIONS These data in humans with and without gastritis are consistent with the hypothesis that local factors influence ectopic gastric IF expression, arising from either the anatomical location, the focal inflammation, or both.

Paramecium bursaria cells harbor several hundred symbiotic algae in their cytoplasm. Algae-free cells can be reinfected with algae isolated from algae-bearing cells or cultivated Chlorella species through the digestive vacuoles. To determine the relationship between the infectivity of various Chlorella species and the nature of their cell wall components, algae-free P. bursaria cells were mixed with 15 strains of cultivated Chlorella species and observed for the establishment of endosymbiosis at 1 h and 3 weeks after mixing. Only 2 free-living algal strains, C. sorokiniana C-212 and C. kessleri C-531, were maintained in the host cells, whereas free-living C. sorokiniana C-43, C. kessleri C-208, C. vulgaris C-27, C. ellipsoidea C-87 and C-542, C. saccharophila C-183 and C-169, C. fusca var. vacuolata C-104 and C-28, C. zofingiensis C-111, and C. protothecoides C-150 and C-206 and the cultivated symbiotic Chlorella sp. strain C-201 derived from Spongilla fluviatilis could not be maintained. These infection-incapable strains could escape from the host digestive vacuole but failed to localize beneath the host cell membrane and were eventually digested. Labeling of their cell walls with Alexa Fluor 488-conjugated wheat germ agglutinin, GS-II, or concanavalin A, with or without pretreatment with 0.4 N NaOH, showed no relationship between their infectivity and the stainability with these lectins. Our results indicate that the infectivity of Chlorella species for P. bursaria is not based on the sugar residues on their cell wall and on the alkali-insoluble part of the cell wall components, but on their ability to localize just beneath the host cell membrane after escaping from the host digestive vacuole.

Chronic inflammation of the gastric epithelium is believed to induce mucosal changes that can eventually develop into gastric cancer. In gastrin-deficient (G-/-) mice exhibiting chronic inflammation in the hypochlorhydric stomach, we documented a prominent fundic mucous cell lineage sharing morphological similarity with preneoplastic changes reported in Helicobacter-infected mice. To study the identity and origin of this cell lineage, we screened for different gastric mucosal cell markers. The clusters of large, foamy cells stained for trefoil factor 2 (TFF2/SP), MUC6 and the lectin Griffonia Simplicifolia II (GSII), but not for the intestine-specific transcription factor Cdx2, suggested that they arise from gastric mucous neck cells. Ki67-labeled GSII-positive neck cells in Helicobacter felis-infected, but not G-/- stomachs, suggested that mucous neck cell proliferation accounted for expansion of this compartment in the H. felis model of gastritis, but not the G-/- model. Using RNase protection assays and quantitative PCR, we found that interferon gamma (IFNgamma) was the most abundant proinflammatory cytokine in the G-/- stomach. We also found that this Th1 cytokine can increase the abundance of mucous neck cells, since its infusion into mice recapitulated the appearance of these cells as observed in both G-/- and H. felis-infected mice. Using the human gastric cell line NCI-N87, we showed that IFNgamma induces the secretion of mucus and expression of MUC6, TFF2 and pepsinogen II, but not of pepsinogen I and intrinsic factor. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that inflammation, specifically the proinflammatory cytokine IFNgamma, induced expansion of the fundic mucous neck cell compartment, which likely represents both increased mucus production and cell number.

The structural glycoprotein gene gp41 homologue of Spodoptera litura nucleopolyhedrosis virus (SpltNPV-I *) was identified in the 4.0 kb EcoRI-L fragment of the viral genome. The nucleotide sequence of 2063 bp of this fragment revealed an open reading frame of 1014 nucleotides to encode a polypeptide of 337 amino acids. Analysis of nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the putative ORF indicated its identity with gp41 protein of other baculoviruses sharing maximum homology with that of Spodoptera frugiperda nucleopolyhedrosis virus (SfNPV). The coding sequence was preceded by an AT-rich region containing the consensus baculoviral late promoter motif RTAAG. The putative SpltNPV gp41 ORF was abundantly expressed as a 37 kDa apoprotein in E. coli and as a 50 kDa glycoprotein in Sf9 cells. The recombinant protein expressed in insect cells was glycosylated (20%) and has GlcNAc as the terminal sugar. The gene is conserved among baculoviruses and places SpltNPV-I close to Spodoptera frugiperda and Spodoptera exigua NPVs in phylogenetic tree.

The in vivo binding pattern of the lectin Griffonia simplicifolia II (GSLII) was evaluated in sections of adult cat optic nerve following reports that it is a marker for oligodendrocytes in adult rodent CNS and that it may also be an oligodendroglial lineage marker. Following as closely as possible the immunocytochemical methodology employed in these reports, staining for GSLII was incorporated into sets of consecutive one micron thick sections comprising known cell-type specific reference markers backed up by electron microscopy. With this correlative protocol both lectin positive and lectin negative cells could be reliably identified. The material examined included normal control tissue and tissue containing previously studied demyelinating lesions of various ages in which oligodendrocyte progenitors and precursors have been characterized. GSLII was found to stain not only mature oligodendrocytes in adult cat optic nerve but also activated microglia, macrophages, polymorphonuclear leucocytes and other haematogenous cells. Lectin positivity was not found in oligodendroglial precursors, endothelial cells, astrocytes or ramified microglia. This study emphasises that care needs to be taken before assigning lineage marker status to individual lectins or antibodies.

We recently described the cloning of putative human CMP-sialic acid transporter (hCST) cDNA [Ishida, N. et al.(1996) J. Biochem. 120, 1074-1078]. The hCST cDNA coded for a hydrophobic protein with an amino acid sequence showing a high degree of similarity (92% identity) to that of murine CMP-sialic acid transporter. In this report, we demonstrate that hCST corrects the CMP-sialic acid transporter-deficient phenotype of CHO-derived Lec2 cells, as judged from the recovery of WGA-sensitivity by transformants, and the recovery of CMP-sialic acid transporting ability by microsomal vesicles prepared from them. A peptide antibody against the C-terminus of the hCST protein detected the cDNA products expressed in the microsomes of the transformants. The subcellular localization of the hCST protein in the Golgi membrane was demonstrated by immunofluorescence microscopy, using the hCST-specific antibody. These results clearly indicate that hCST cDNA encodes the human CMP-sialic acid transporter protein. Plasma membrane-selective permeabilization combined with immunofluorescence microscopy provided strong evidence that the C-terminus of the human CMP-Sia transporter is exposed to the cytosol on the outer surface of the Golgi membrane.

Borna disease virus is a nonsegmented negative-strand RNA virus that causes neurologic disease in a wide variety of animal hosts. Here we describe identification and characterization of the first glycoprotein in this viral system. The 18-kDa glycoprotein, gp18, has been purified from infected rat brain. Isolation and microsequencing of this protein allowed identification of a 16.2-kDa open reading frame in the viral antigenome. Lectin binding and endoglycosidase sensitivity assays indicate that gp18 is an unusual N-linked glycoprotein.

Bandeiraea simplicifolia plant seeds contain a family of five alpha-D-galactopyranosyl-binding isolectins (BS I-A4, A3B, A2B2, AB3, B4) and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine-binding lectin (BS II). After Pi/NaCl extraction and ammonium sulfate fractionation BS II is specifically adsorbed onto p-aminobenzyl-1-thio-N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminide-succinylaminohexylaminyl--Sepharose-4B. The BS I isolectins pass through this column and BS II is selectively eluted by Pi/NaCl containing 2 mM N-acetyl-D-glucosamine or by 0.1 M sodium acetate buffer pH 3.6. The material not bound to the column is loaded onto p-aminophenyl-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-succinylaminohexylaminyl--Sepharose-4B. BS I-A4 is specifically eluted in a sharp peak with Pi/NaCl containing 1 mM N-acetyl-D-galactosamine. Then, BS I-A3B, A2B2, AB3 and B4 are selectively eluted, in a single peak for each isolectin. with Pi/NaCl containing 2 mM, 8 mM, 15 mM and 50 mM methyl alpha-D-galactopyranoside, respectively.

Association constants for the binding of methyl alpha-D-galactopyranoside (methyl alpha-D-Galp) and methyl 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-alpha-D-galactopyranoside (methyl alpha-D-GalNAcp) to three Bandeiraea simplicifolia isolectins (A4, A2B2, B4) were determined by equilibrium dialysis and fluorescence enhancement measurements. The a and B subunits appear to have approximately the same Kassoc for methyl alpha-D-Galp: 1.45 X 10(4), 1.98 X 10(4), and 2.06 X 10(4) M-1 for A4, A2B2, and B4, respectively, as determined by equilibrium dialysis. Fluorescence enhancement measurements on B4 gave an association constant of 2.07 X 10(4) M-1 for methyl alpha-D-Galp and 1.87 X 10(3) M-1 for methyl beta-D-galp. By equilibrium dialysis, we were able to detect 3.3 (theory, 4.0) methyl alpha-D-GalNAcp binding sites for A4 (Kassoc = 1.87 X 10(5) M-1), 1.9 for A2B2 (Kassoc = 1.19 X 10(5) M-1), and were unable to detect any methyl alpha-D-GalNAcp binding sites for B4. However, four very weak methyl alpha-D-GalNAc binding sites for B4 were detected by fluorescence enhancement measurement (Kassoc = 1.26 X 10(2) M-1). Thus, the A subunit has an affinity for methyl alpha-D-GalNAc 3 orders of magnitude greater than the B subunit. Precipitation and hapten inhibition data are in accord with these binding measurements. Toward guaran and type B blood group substance, all isolectins precipitated the same amount of biopolymer. However, AB3, A2B2, and A3B, which are mono-, di-, and trivalent for alpha-D-GalNAcp, were differentially precipitated by type A blood group substance which contains alpha-D-GalNAcp-end groups. A3B precipitated the most, A2B2 less, and AB3 no type A substance. These isolectins should prove useful in studies evaluating the effect of valence on lectin-cell interaction.

AIMS To investigate the effects of the combined application of an N-acyl homoserine lactone (HSL) analog and antibiotics on biofilms of Porphyromonas gingivalis, a major pathogen of periodontal disease. METHODS AND RESULTS Antibiotics used were cefuroxime, ofloxacin and minocycline. A flow-cell model was used for biofilm formation. Samples were divided into four groups: control, analog-treated, antibiotic-treated and combined application groups. Biofilm cell survival was determined using adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence and confocal laser microscopy (CLSM). In the combined application group, the ATP count in biofilm cells was significantly decreased compared with the antibiotic-treated group (Games-Howell test, P < 0·05). A combination of cefuroxime and the analog was most effective against the P. gingivalis biofilm. CLSM observations revealed that the proportion of dead cells was highest in the combined application group. CONCLUSIONS The combined application of the N-acyl HSL analog and antibiotics was effective at reducing the viability of P. gingivalis cells in biofilms. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY The combined application of the N-acyl HSL analog and antibiotics may be successful for eradicating infections involving bacterial biofilms, such as periodontitis.

Antibiotic resistance of biofilm-grown bacteria contributes to chronic infections such as marginal and periapical periodontitis, which are strongly associated with Porphyromonas gingivalis. Concurrent azithromycin (AZM) administration and mechanical debridement improve the clinical parameters of periodontal tissue in situ. We examined the in vitro efficacy of AZM against P. gingivalis biofilms. The susceptibility of adherent P. gingivalis strains 381, HW24D1, 6/26 and W83 to AZM, erythromycin (ERY), ampicillin (AMP), ofloxacin (OFX) and gentamicin (GEN) were investigated using a static model. The optical densities of adherent P. gingivalis cells were significantly decreased by using AZM and ERY at sub-MIC compared with controls in all the strains tested, except for the effect of ERY on strain W83. AMP and OFX inhibited P. gingivalis adherent cells at over their MICs, and GEN showed no inhibition in the static model. The effects of AZM and ERY against biofilm cells were investigated using a flow cell model. The ATP levels of P. gingivalis biofilms were significantly decreased by AZM at concentrations below the sub-MICshowever, ERY was not effective for inhibition of P. gingivalis biofilm cells at their sub-MICs. Furthermore, decreased density of P. gingivalis biofilms was observed three-dimensionally with sub-MIC AZM, using confocal laser scanning microscopy. These findings suggest that AZM is effective against P. gingivalis biofilms at sub-MIC levels, and could have future clinical application for oral biofilm infections such as chronic marginal and periapical periodontitis.

HASH(0xfe09cb0)

Type I collagen, the major organic component of human dentin, plays an important role in regulating the mechanical strength of dentin. Collagen in dentin can be strengthened by heating. We hypothesized that UV irradiation could produce similar strengthening effects and might maintain the strength of dentin after rehydration. Beam-shaped dentin specimens from the crowns of human third molars were subjected to flexural testing. Flexural strengths were two and three times greater than those in the control group after 5 minutes' UV irradiation and heating to 140 degrees C, respectively. After 30 days of rehydration, the heated specimens reverted to their original strength, whereas the UV specimens were 69% stronger than the original. Raman spectra of dental collagen were unchanged after heating, whereas several peaks, including a C-C bond in a proline ring, were amplified by UV irradiation. It is concluded that dentin strengthened by UV irradiation retains strength after rehydration because of chemical changes in collagen.

Evidence based on the quantitative precipitin method and hapten inhibition technique demonstrates that concanavalin A may interact with internal 2-O-linked alpha-D-mannopyranosyl residues as may occur in glycoproteins and polysaccharides.

Asahi Y, Noiri Y, Igarashi J, Asai H, Suga H, Ebisu S. Effects of N-acyl homoserine lactone analogues on Porphyromonas gingivalis biofilm formation. J Periodont Res 2009; doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0765.2009.01228.x (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/SBackground and Objective: The gram-negative anaerobic rod Porphyromonas gingivalis in oral biofilms is a primary etiological agent of periodontal disease. Biofilm formation of various gram-negative bacteria is regulated by a quorum-sensing circuit that relies on N-acyl homoserine lactones (HSLs). Some synthetic N-acyl HSL analogues act as quorum-sensing inhibitors and suppress biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Development of chemical control agents against oral biofilms is necessary, because until now, biofilms have been removed only by mechanical debridement. The present study investigated the effect of N-acyl HSL analogues on P. gingivalis biofilm formation, with the aim of developing new drugs that inhibit oral biofilm formation. Material and Methods: A flow-cell model was used for P. gingivalis biofilm formation. Seventeen synthetic N-acyl HSL analogues were quantitatively assessed by spectrophotometry. The effects of three antagonistic compounds against P. gingivalis biofilm formation were further examined by confocal laser scanning microscopy, and investigated for primary attachment using spectrophotometry and phase contrast microscopy. Results: Ten out of 17 analogues affected P. gingivalis biofilm formation. Three out of 10 analogues significantly decreased biofilm-forming cells (p < 0.05), and these biofilm structures were less well formed three-dimensionally. There were no quantitative or qualitative differences in cell attachment between the control and the three analogue-treated groups. Conclusion: Three synthetic N-acyl HSL analogues inhibited biofilm formation in P. gingivalis. We suggest that these analogues influence the development stage of P. gingivalis biofilm formation.

The present findings provide a molecular basis for a new paradigm of specificity in multivalent carbohydrate-lectin interactions, namely the formation of type 2 homogeneous cross-linked lattices between multivalent carbohydrates and lectins. The present x-ray data demonstrate that the cross-linked complexes formed between a series of structurally related divalent carbohydrates and a single tetravalent lectin (SBA) are distinct and due to crystal packing interactions. These results thus provide a molecular basis for the formation of homogeneous type 2 cross-linked complexes between lectins and multivalent carbohydrates and glycoconjugates. These findings are also relevant to the observations that lectin-carbohydrate cross-linking interactions are involved in cellular recognition and signal transduction processes. For example, activated human T-cells undergo apoptosis due to binding and cross-linking of specific glycoprotein receptors by galectin-1 (Pace et al., 1999). Confocal microscopy shows that the galectin cross-linked glycoprotein receptors form homogeneous aggregates from a population of previously dispersed molecules on the surface of the cells. The crystal structures of the four SBA/pentasaccharide complexes thus repesent models for lectin-carbohydrate clustering in vivo.

Experimental and clinical studies suggest that influenza A virus promotes Streptococcus pneumoniae-induced otitis media; however, the mechanism underlying this synergistic interaction has not been completely defined. In this study, glycoconjugate expression patterns were evaluated on the cell surface in the chinchilla eustachian tube (ET) lumen of a cohort challenged intranasally (i.n.) with S. pneumoniae type 6A, which is predominantly transparent and a cohort with an antecedent influenza A virus infection, followed by i.n. inoculation with S. pneumoniae. The labeling patterns obtained with six lectin probes revealed that the binding of Bandeiraea simplicifolia lectin II, succinylated wheat germ agglutinin, and peanut agglutinin were significantly increased in the lumenal surface of the ET in the cohort infected with both pathogens compared to the cohort inoculated with only S. pneumoniae, which indicated that N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) and D-galactose residues were exposed. A significant decreased labeling with Sambucus nigra agglutinin in the combined influenza A virus and pneumococcus infection cohort suggested that there were few sialic acid residues remaining in the ET epithelium. In addition, the colonial opacity of S. pneumoniae during the disease course was examined. The opaque phenotype was predominant among the pneumococcus isolates from the middle-ear fluid in the cohort infected with the both pathogens. Together, these data suggest that the synergic effect of influenza A virus and S. pneumoniae on the changes of the carbohydrate moieties in the ET epithelium and that the selection of the opaque variant may facilitate the pneumococcal invasion of the middle ear.

This paper extends our knowledge of the rather bizarre carbohydrate binding poperties of the banana lectin (Musa acuminata). Although a glucose/mannose binding protein which recognizes alpha-linked gluco-and manno-pyranosyl groups of polysaccharide chain ends, the banana lectin was shown to bind to internal 3-O-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl units. Now we report that this lectin also binds to the reducing glucosyl groups of beta-1,3-linked glucosyl oligosaccharides (e.g. laminaribiose oligomers). Additionally, banana lectin also recognizes beta1,6-linked glucosyl end groups (gentiobiosyl groups) as occur in many fungal beta1,3/1,6-linked polysaccharides. This behavior clearly distinguishes the banana lectin from other mannose/glucose binding lectins, such as concanavalin A and the pea, lentil and Calystegia sepium lectins.

Protein-carbohydrate interactions are the language of choice for inter- cellular communication. The legume lectins form a large family of homologous proteins that exhibit a wide variety of carbohydrate specificities. The legume lectin family is therefore highly suitable as a model system to study the structural principles of protein-carbohydrate recognition. Until now, structural data are only available for two specificity families: Man/Glc and Gal/GalNAc. No structural data are available for any of the fucose or chitobiose specific lectins.The crystal structure of Ulex europaeus (UEA-II) is the first of a legume lectin belonging to the chitobiose specificity group. The complexes with N-acetylglucosamine, galactose and fucosylgalactose show a promiscuous primary binding site capable of accommodating both N-acetylglucos amine or galactose in the primary binding site. The hydrogen bonding network in these complexes can be considered suboptimal, in agreement with the low affinities of these sugars. In the complexes with chitobiose, lactose and fucosyllactose this suboptimal hydrogen bonding network is compensated by extensive hydrophobic interactions in a Glc/GlcNAc binding subsite. UEA-II thus forms the first example of a legume lectin with a promiscuous binding site and illustrates the importance of hydrophobic interactions in protein-carbohydrate complexes. Together with other known legume lectin crystal structures, it shows how different specificities can be grafted upon a conserved structural framework.

Nod factors are important elicitors in legume-bacterium symbiosis. Any candidate plant receptor(s) for these lipo-oligosaccharides can be expected to show some lectin-like properties. A novel protein (P60), a native tetramer with 60 kDa monomers, has been isolated from a membrane fraction of Medicago sativa (lucerne, alfalfa) roots by using affinity chromatography with either GlcNAc or N,N', N"-triacetyl-(1-->4)-beta-d-chitotriose [(GlcNAc)(3)] grafted to agarose beads as the matrix and, in a second step, Sephadex G-200 gel filtration. With (GlcNAc)(3)-agarose an additional protein of 78 kDa was isolated. P60 showed haemagglutination activity with specificity for GalNAc, GalN, GlcNAc and GlcN. Binding experiments with radioactive GlcNAc gave a K(d) of 95 nM and one binding site per monomer of P60; Nod factor competed strongly for this binding. In native PAGE, protein incubated with O-sulphated Nod factors had a higher electrophoretic mobility as a consequence of binding. However, the largest modification was observed with a natural mixture of Nod factors, containing the O-acetylated and O-sulphated tetrasaccharidic NodRm-IV(Ac,S)(in which Ac stands for an O-acetylated group at the non-reducing end and S for O-sulphation at the reducing end) in addition to the non-O-acetylated NodRm-IV(S)(which alone had little effect) and NodRm-V(S). The native PAGE study was also performed with known lectins from other sources, but only the 34 kDa lectin of Phytolacca americana (pokeweed) showed any such interaction, although without discrimination between Nod factors. Finally, one peptide of each isolated protein was sequenced; the peptide from P60 showed some similarity with dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase and ferric leghaemoglobin reductase, whereas the peptide from P78 was identical with an analogous region of 70 kDa heat shock protein.

Bandeiraea (Griffonia) simplicifolia lectin-I, isolectin A(4)(GS I-A(4)), which is cytotoxic to the human colon cancer cell lines, is one of two lectin families derived from its seed extract. It contains only a homo-oligomer of subunit A, and is most specific for GalNAcalpha1-->. In order to elucidate the GS I-A(4)-glycoconjugate interactions in greater detail, the combining site of this lectin was further characterized by enzyme linked lectino-sorbent assay (ELLSA) and by inhibition of lectin-glycoprotein interactions. This study has demonstrated that the Tn-containing glycoproteins tested, consisting of mammalian salivary glycoproteins (armadillo, asialo-hamster sublingual, asialo-ovine,-bovine, and -porcine submandibular), are bound strongly by GS I-A(4.)Among monovalent inhibitors so far tested, p-NO2-phenylalphaGalNAc is the most potent, suggesting that hydrophobic forces are important in the interaction of this lectin. GS I-A(4)is able to accommodate the monosaccharide GalNAc at the nonreducing end of oligosaccharides. This suggests that the combining site of the lectin is a shallow cavity. Among oligosaccharides and monosaccharides tested as inhibitors of the binding of GS I-A(4), the hierarchy of potencies are: GalNAcalpha1-->3GalNAcbeta1-->3Galalpha1-->4Galbeta 1-->4Glc (Forssman pentasaccharide)> GalNAcalpha1-->3(LFucalpha1-->2)Gal (blood group A)()> GalNAc > Galalpha1-->4Gal > Galalpha1-->3Gal (blood group B-like)> Gal.

The seed lectin (DBL) from the leguminous plant Dolichos biflorus has a unique specificity among the members of the legume lectin family because of its high preference for GalNAc over Gal. In addition, precipitation of blood group A+H substance by DBL is slightly better inhibited by a blood group A trisaccharide (GalNAc(alpha1-3)[Fuc(alpha1-2)]Gal) containing pentasaccharide, and about 40 times better by the Forssman disaccharide (GalNAc(alpha1-3)GalNAc) than by GalNAc. We report the crystal structures of the DBL-blood group A trisaccharide complex and the DBL-Forssman disaccharide complex.A comparison with the binding sites of Gal-binding legume lectins indicates that the low affinity of DBL for Gal is due to the substitution of a conserved aromatic residue by an aliphatic residue (Leu127). Binding studies with a Leu127Phe mutant corroborate these conclusions. DBL has a higher affinity for GalNAc because the N-acetyl group compensates for the loss of aromatic stacking in DBL by making a hydrogen bond with the backbone amide group of Gly103 and a hydrophobic contact with the side-chains of Trp132 and Tyr104.Some legume lectins possess a hydrophobic binding site that binds adenine and adenine-derived plant hormones, i.e. cytokinins. The exact function of this binding site is unknown, but adenine/cytokinin-binding legume lectins might be involved in storage of plant hormones or plant growth regulation. The structures of DBL in complex with adenine and of the dimeric stem and leaf lectin (DB58) from the same plant provide the first structural data on these binding sites. Both oligomers possess an unusual architecture, featuring an alpha-helix sandwiched between two monomers. In both oligomers, this alpha-helix is directly involved in the formation of the hydrophobic binding site. DB58 adopts a novel quaternary structure, related to the quaternary structure of the DBL heterotetramer, and brings the number of know legume lectin dimer types to four.

Griffonia simplicifolia leaf lectin II (GSII), a plant defense protein against certain insects, consists of an N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc)-binding large subunit with a small subunit having sequence homology to class III chitinases. Much of the insecticidal activity of GSII is attributable to the large lectin subunit, because bacterially expressed recombinant large subunit (rGSII) inhibited growth and development of the cowpea bruchid, Callosobruchus maculatus (F). Site-specific mutations were introduced into rGSII to generate proteins with altered GlcNAc binding, and the different rGSII proteins were evaluated for insecticidal activity when added to the diet of the cowpea bruchid. At pH 5.5, close to the physiological pH of the cowpea bruchid midgut lumen, rGSII recombinant proteins were categorized as having high (rGSII, rGSII-Y134F, and rGSII-N196D mutant proteins), low (rGSII-N136D), or no (rGSII-D88N, rGSII-Y134G, rGSII-Y134D, and rGSII-N136Q) GlcNAc-binding activity. Insecticidal activity of the recombinant proteins correlated with their GlcNAc-binding activity. Furthermore, insecticidal activity correlated with the resistance to proteolytic degradation by cowpea bruchid midgut extracts and with GlcNAc-specific binding to the insect digestive tract. Together, these results establish that insecticidal activity of GSII is functionally linked to carbohydrate binding, presumably to the midgut epithelium or the peritrophic matrix, and to biochemical stability of the protein to digestive proteolysis.