Snail lectin

The snail lectin. Helix pomatia, although of animal origin, is a useful reagent for the determination of a-A-acetylgalactosaminyl end groups [204]. 

Analysis showed that the snail agglutinin contained a preponderance of acidic and hydroxylic amino acids and a large proportion of proline residues.83,560-562 Uncharacteristic of lectins from leguminous-plant seeds, the hemagglutinin contained 18 half-cystine residues and 10 molecular proportions of methionine per molecule of protein.83,569 About 8% (by weight) of covalently bound carbohydrate was found this was principally D-galactose and D-mannose.63... 

Such behavior may indicate the possibility that one is dealing with a mixture of lectins. Lectins from the snails Axinella polypoides and Aaptos papillata each were found to be mixtures of three lectins, two of which were obtained in purified form the sites of the two lectins from each species showed some differences in specificity, and one of the lectins from Axinella (lectin I) was strongly mitogenic for human peripheral blood T cells and to a lesser extent for human B cells. 

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