Köttgen Eckart, Reutter Werner, Tauber Rudolf
Institut für Laboratoriumsmedizin und Pathobiochemie, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Berlin.
Med Klin (Munich). 2003 Dec 15;98(12):717-38. doi: 10.1007/s00063-003-1318-1.
Lectins are phylogenetically ancient proteins that have specific recognition and binding functions for complex carbohydrates of glycoconjugates, i. e., of glycoproteins, proteoglycans/glycosaminoglycans and glycolipids. This class of proteins mediates important processes of adhesion and communication both inside and outside cells. A large variety of lectins are expressed in the human organism. This article reviews the current knowledge of human lectins with a focus on biochemistry and pathobiochemistry (principles of protein glycosylation and defects of glycosylation as a basis of disease) and cell biology (protein sorting, exocytosis and endocytosis, apoptosis, cell adhesion, cell differentiation, and malignant transformation). The clinical significance of lectin-glycoconjugate interactions is described by example of inflammatory diseases, defects of immune defense, autoimmunity, infectious diseases, and tumor invasion/metastasis. Moreover, therapeutic perspectives of novel drugs that interfere with lectin-carbohydrate interactions are discussed.
凝集素是一类在系统发育上较为古老的蛋白质，它们对糖缀合物（即糖蛋白、蛋白聚糖/糖胺聚糖和糖脂）中的复合碳水化合物具有特异性识别和结合功能。这类蛋白质介导细胞内外重要的黏附与通讯过程。人体中表达有多种凝集素。本文综述了目前关于人类凝集素的知识，重点关注生物化学和病理生物化学（蛋白质糖基化原理及糖基化缺陷作为疾病基础）以及细胞生物学（蛋白质分选、胞吐作用和胞吞作用、细胞凋亡、细胞黏附、细胞分化和恶性转化）。通过炎症性疾病、免疫防御缺陷、自身免疫性疾病、感染性疾病以及肿瘤侵袭/转移等实例，阐述了凝集素 - 糖缀合物相互作用的临床意义。此外，还讨论了干扰凝集素 - 碳水化合物相互作用的新型药物的治疗前景。
