Lymphocytes agglutination

Pfeifer, R. W., Patterson, R. M. (1986). Modulation of lectin-stimulated lymphocyte agglutination and mitogenesis by estrogen metabolites Effects on early events of lymphocyte activation. 

Percolation is widely observed in chemical systems. It is a process that can describe how small, branched molecules react to form polymers, ultimately leading to an extensive network connected by chemical bonds. Other applications of percolation theory include conductivity, diffusivity, and the critical behavior of sols and gels. In biological systems, the role of the connectivity of different elements is of great importance. Examples include self-assembly of tobacco mosaic virus, actin filaments, and flagella, lymphocyte patch and cap formation, precipitation and agglutination phenomena, and immune system function. 

The ability for lectins to agglutinate some cell lines has suggested that insolubilized lectins may prove of value in certain specific cell separations. Edelman, Rutishauser and Millette [141], for example, showed that BALB mouse erythrocytes, thymocytes and lymphocytes bind to insolubilized Con A. While Zabriskie, Ollis and Berger found that wheat germ agglutinin insolubilized on polyacrylamide was able to bind mouse leukemia cells [142]. 

When leukocyte antigens were first detected in the 1950s, the assay consisted of a cumbersome agglutination technique. However, the introduction of the lymphocyte microcytotoxicity test by Terasaki and McClelland in 1964 (T6) eliminated many of the technical constraints inherent in the agglutination method and provided a more consistent and reproducible method for the demonstration of HLA products. The test has continued in use little changed since its introduction. 

The concentrations of C-reactive protein increase up to 1000 -fold in inflammatory conditions and in tissue necrosis. In addition, it can initiate reactions of agglutination, precipitation, and opsonization for phagocytosis and can activate the complement system. Other biological activities with platelets and lymphocytes have also been described, but the full biological functions of CRP have not yet been completely elucidated. Review of CRP and the acute phase response H. Gewurz el aL. Advan. Int. Med. 27, 345 -372 (1982). Review of structure and function M. B. Pepys. Bur. J. Rheumatol Inflammation S, 386-397 (1982). Book Arm. N. Y. Acad. Set 389, entitled "C-Reactive Protein and the Plasma Protein Response to Tissue Injury , I. Rushner et al, Eds. (1982) 482 pp. 

The lectin from the thorn apple, Datura stramonium, purified by affinity chromatography on immobilized fetuin, agglutinates lymphocytes as well as erythrocytes. The agglutination of both cell types was specifically inhibited by oligomers of 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose and appears to be caused by a single lectin. However, these activities are distinct from an associated mitogenic... 

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