Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology, University of Munich, D-80333 Munich, Karlstr. 29, FRG.
Phytomedicine. 1995 Apr;1(4):287-90. doi: 10.1016/S0944-7113(11)80004-8.
Urtica dioica agglutinin (UDA), a GlcN-Ac-specific lectin from the rhizomes of Urtica dioica, was found to inhibit the binding of (125)I-labelled epidermal growth factor (EGF) to its receptor (EGF-R) on A431 epidermoid cancer cells at concentrations of 500ng/ml to 100μg/ml. The effects of other lectins such as wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), which possesses the same sugar specificity, and the mannose-specific agglutinin from Canavalia ensiformis (Con A) were less pronounced. The inhibitory effect of UDA could be antagonized by the GlcN-Ac trimer (N,N',N″-triacetylchitotriose), suggesting hat UDA may be the major antiprostatic compound of Urtica dioica drug, acting by blocking the EGF-R in prostate tissues.
荨麻凝集素（UDA）是荨麻根茎中的一种 GlcN-Ac 特异性凝集素，发现在 500ng/ml 至 100μg/ml 的浓度下可抑制（125）I 标记的表皮生长因子（EGF）与其受体（EGF-R）在 A431 表皮样癌细胞上的结合。其他凝集素如麦胚凝集素（WGA），具有相同的糖特异性，以及刀豆球蛋白 A（Con A）中的甘露糖特异性凝集素的作用则不那么明显。UDA 的抑制作用可以被 GlcN-Ac 三聚体（N,N',N″-三乙酰壳三糖）拮抗，这表明 UDA 可能是荨麻药物中主要的抗前列腺化合物，通过阻断前列腺组织中的 EGF-R 发挥作用。
