Studies on the binding of Urtica dioica agglutinin (UDA) and other lectins in an in vitro epidermal growth factor receptor test.

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.