Tentacle type peptides as artificial lectins against sulfated Lewis X and A.

An effort has generated peptides from a phage-displayed library that selectively bind to the sulfated carbohydrates HSO3-LeA and HSO3-LeX. Even though more than six phaged peptides were identified by using the biopanning procedure, only one synthesized peptide displayed a consistently high binding affinity and specificity against the cognate HSO3-LeA. This dimeric, tentacle type peptide has a low micromolar affinity against the cognate sugar, which is even more specific than an antibody (Table 2(b)). Thus, it suggests that tentacle type peptides can be used as alternatives to antibodies to bind to aberrant cell-surface carbohydrates that are either the causes or results of carbohydrate-indicating disease states.