Köttgen E
Klin Wochenschr. 1977 Apr 15;55(8):359-73. doi: 10.1007/BF01488621.
Lectins are proteins or glycoproteins, originally isolated from plant seeds. Characteristics are their ability to bind glycoproteins or glycolipids depending on the carbohydrate residues. The present review describes the structure of the lectins, their binding specificity and their functions with respect to precipitation of glycoproteins, agglutination of cells, transformation of lymphocytes and toxic action. Recently, lectin-analogs have been described in rabbit liver, which are responsible for hepatic uptake of circulating glycoproteins. The regulation of this process is intimately linked to the terminal N-Acetylneuraminic acid (NA-NA). Moreover, its significance is shown during fetal development, oncogenic transformation, immunologic recognition as well as homostasis. Due to the different terminal carbohydrate residues, glycoproteins of adult, fetal or transformed cells can be separated using affinity chromatography. Besides the purification of glycoproteins, lectins are also used for the separation of intact cells. Therefore the use of lectins is recommended for preparative and analytical methods, for the measurements of glycoprotein-turnover and for clinical diagnostics.
凝集素是蛋白质或糖蛋白，最初从植物种子中分离出来。其特点是能够根据碳水化合物残基结合糖蛋白或糖脂。本综述描述了凝集素的结构、它们的结合特异性以及它们在糖蛋白沉淀、细胞凝集、淋巴细胞转化和毒性作用方面的功能。最近，在兔肝脏中发现了凝集素类似物，它们负责循环糖蛋白的肝脏摄取。这个过程的调节与末端N-乙酰神经氨酸（NA-NA）密切相关。此外，它在胎儿发育、致癌转化、免疫识别以及体内平衡过程中都具有重要意义。由于末端碳水化合物残基不同，可使用亲和色谱法分离成年、胎儿或转化细胞的糖蛋白。除了纯化糖蛋白外，凝集素还用于分离完整细胞。因此，建议在制备和分析方法、糖蛋白周转率测量以及临床诊断中使用凝集素。
