Lectins differential binding

During recent years it has been established that lymphocytes are comprised of many subpopulations, such as T and B, mature and immature cells, etc. Although various techniques for lymphocyte separation have been devised, based mainly on cell size, density, electrical charge and specific surface antigens, none of these is satisfactory. Studies carried out recently in our laboratory have demonstrated that differential binding of lectins to sugars on different cell subpopulations can serve as a basis for a simple and effective method for cell fractionation. 

The differential binding of glycoses to lectins depends on subtle changes in the disposition of amino acid side chains near the carbohydrate-binding sites. The sites are broad and shallow, with selectivity resulting from three factors ... 

Ichikawa M., Takami S., Osada T. and Graziadei RRC. (1994). Differential development of binding-sites of 2 lectins in the vomeronasal axons of the rat accessory olfactory bulb. Dev Brain Res 78, 1-9. 

S. Andre, B. Liu, H.-J. Gabius, and R. Roy, First demonstration of differential inhibition of lectin binding by synthetic tri- and tetravalent glycoclusters from cross-coupling of rigidified 2-propynyl lactoside, Org. Biomol. Chem., 1 (2001) 3909-3916. 

Qy-boronate derivatives have the ability to form covalent bonds with d,v-diol sugars at alkaline pH. Unlike lectins, which typically bind only the terminal sugar in a complex carbohydrate, boronates can bind any physically accessible CM-diol on a glycoprotein.23-25 When hydrophobic boronate derivatives are used, the hydrophobicity of each complexation site is enhanced. To the extent that the protein components of a sample are differentially glycosylated, this can provide a tool for exploiting those differences. 

Skerrow, C.J., Clelland, D.G., and Skerow, D., Changes to desmosomal antigens and lectin-binding sites during differentiation in normal human epidermis a quantitative ultrastructural study,./. Cell Sci., 92, 667, 1989. 

Hynes, S.O., Hirmo, S., Wadstrom, T., Moran, A.P. Differentiation of Helicobacter pylori isolates based on lectin binding of cell extracts in an agglutination assay. J Clin Microbiol 37 (1999) 1994-1998. 

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