Enhancement of clearance of plant lectins as radiopharmaceuticals by chemically glycosylated antilectin antibody.

The influence of chemical glycosylation on clearance of plant lectins, employed as radiopharmaceuticals, was assessed. Controlled chemical modification of the antibody to concanavalia ensiformis agglutinin did not affect its immunologic activity, but led to rapid clearance from circulation. In tumor-bearing mice, notable increases of selected tumor/non tumor ratios even after only 1 h of presence of the galactosylated antibody to the lectin in circulation were observed. Similarly, galactosylated antibody to pisum sativum agglutinin caused significant increases of tumor/non tumor ratios.