Structures, Functions and Applications of Marine Lectins

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2017) | Viewed by 22685

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, Kagamiyama 1-4-4, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8528, Japan
Interests: algal lectins; structures; functions; applications; marine glycoscience; marine biotechnology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Lectins are ubiquitous proteins in almost all types of organisms, including viruses, bacteria, algae, fungi, plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates, and primarily function as biomolecules decoding glycans in body fluid and on cell surfaces. Thus, lectins play important roles in fundamental life process, as well as glycans of informative molecules, indicating the importance of the proteins in both basic and application research fields for biology and medicine. In fact, several lectins are now available as research and clinical tools. To date, lectin research has mainly been directed to terrestrial organisms since the first discovery of a legume lectin. However, marine organisms are also interesting targets for lectin research because of their taxonomic position and biological diversity. Marine organisms inhabit in the special environment of seawater, which implies the novelty of metabolic pathways and metabolites, including lectin molecules. Certainly, lectins with unique structures and biological properties have recently been found from marine organisms. However, marine organisms investigated for lectins are still limited in the numerous species and the interests on marine lectins have been increasing for basic and application research purpose. As the Guest Editor, I invite researchers to provide recent advances in the attractive field of marine lectins.

Prof. Dr. Kanji Hori
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • lectins
  • marine organisms
  • molecular structures
  • functions
  • carbohydrate-binding specificity
  • biological activity
  • applications
  • physiological roles
  • evolution
  • glycomics
  • proteomics
  • genomics
  • glycobiology

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

3138 KiB  
Article
A Novel High-Mannose Specific Lectin from the Green Alga Halimeda renschii Exhibits a Potent Anti-Influenza Virus Activity through High-Affinity Binding to the Viral Hemagglutinin
by Jinmin Mu, Makoto Hirayama, Yuichiro Sato, Kinjiro Morimoto and Kanji Hori
Mar. Drugs 2017, 15(8), 255; https://doi.org/10.3390/md15080255 - 16 Aug 2017
Cited by 35 | Viewed by 4882
Abstract
We have isolated a novel lectin, named HRL40 from the green alga Halimeda renschii. In hemagglutination-inhibition test and oligosaccharide-binding experiment with 29 pyridylaminated oligosaccharides, HRL40 exhibited a strict binding specificity for high-mannose N-glycans having an exposed (α1-3) mannose residue in the [...] Read more.
We have isolated a novel lectin, named HRL40 from the green alga Halimeda renschii. In hemagglutination-inhibition test and oligosaccharide-binding experiment with 29 pyridylaminated oligosaccharides, HRL40 exhibited a strict binding specificity for high-mannose N-glycans having an exposed (α1-3) mannose residue in the D2 arm of branched mannosides, and did not have an affinity for monosaccharides and other oligosaccharides examined, including complex N-glycans, an N-glycan core pentasaccharide, and oligosaccharides from glycolipids. The carbohydrate binding profile of HRL40 resembled those of Type I high-mannose specific antiviral algal lectins, or the Oscillatoria agardhii agglutinin (OAA) family, which were previously isolated from red algae and a blue-green alga (cyanobacterium). HRL40 potently inhibited the infection of influenza virus (A/H3N2/Udorn/72) into NCI-H292 cells with half-maximal effective dose (ED50) of 2.45 nM through high-affinity binding to a viral envelope hemagglutinin (KD, 3.69 × 10−11 M). HRL40 consisted of two isolectins (HRL40-1 and HRL40-2), which could be separated by reverse-phase HPLC. Both isolectins had the same molecular weight of 46,564 Da and were a disulfide -linked tetrameric protein of a 11,641 Da polypeptide containing at least 13 half-cystines. Thus, HRL40, which is the first Type I high-mannose specific antiviral lectin from the green alga, had the same carbohydrate binding specificity as the OAA family, but a molecular structure distinct from the family. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structures, Functions and Applications of Marine Lectins)
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3337 KiB  
Article
Isolation, Amino Acid Sequences, and Plausible Functions of the Galacturonic Acid-Binding Egg Lectin of the Sea Hare Aplysia kurodai
by Shoko Motohashi, Mitsuru Jimbo, Tomohiro Naito, Takefumi Suzuki, Ryuichi Sakai and Hisao Kamiya
Mar. Drugs 2017, 15(6), 161; https://doi.org/10.3390/md15060161 - 02 Jun 2017
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4219
Abstract
Egg lectins occur in a variety of animals ranging from mollusks to vertebrates. A few examples of molluscan egg lectins have been reported, including that of the sea hare Aplysia kurodai; however, their biological functions in the egg remain unclarified. We report [...] Read more.
Egg lectins occur in a variety of animals ranging from mollusks to vertebrates. A few examples of molluscan egg lectins have been reported, including that of the sea hare Aplysia kurodai; however, their biological functions in the egg remain unclarified. We report the isolation, determination of primary structure, and possible functions of A. kurodai lectin (AKL) from the egg mass of A. kurodai. We obtained AKL as an inseparable mixture of isoproteins with a relative molecular mass of approximately 32 kDa by affinity purification. The hemagglutinating activity of AKL against rabbit erythrocytes was inhibited most potently by galacturonic acid and moderately by xylose. Nucleotide sequencing of corresponding cDNA obtained by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) allowed us to deduce complete amino acid sequences. The mature polypeptides consisted of 218- or 219-amino acids with three repeated domains. The amino acid sequence had similarities to hypothetical proteins of Aplysia spp., or domain DUF3011 of uncharacterized bacterial proteins. AKL is the first member of the DUF3011 family whose function, carbohydrate recognition, was revealed. Treatment of the egg with galacturonic acid, an AKL sugar inhibitor, resulted in deformation of the veliger larvae, suggesting that AKL is involved in organogenesis in the developmental stage of A. kurodai. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structures, Functions and Applications of Marine Lectins)
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3303 KiB  
Article
Marine Lectins DlFBL and HddSBL Fused with Soluble Coxsackie-Adenovirus Receptor Facilitate Adenovirus Infection in Cancer Cells BUT Have Different Effects on Cell Survival
by Bingbing Wu, Shengsheng Mei, Lianzhen Cui, Zhenzhen Zhao, Jianhong Chen, Tao Wu and Gongchu Li
Mar. Drugs 2017, 15(3), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/md15030073 - 14 Mar 2017
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4603
Abstract
Cancer development and progression are usually associated with glycosylation change, providing prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers, as well as therapeutic targets, for various cancers. In this work, Dicentrarchus labrax fucose binding lectin (DlFBL) and Haliotis discus discus sialic acid binding lectin (HddSBL) were genetically [...] Read more.
Cancer development and progression are usually associated with glycosylation change, providing prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers, as well as therapeutic targets, for various cancers. In this work, Dicentrarchus labrax fucose binding lectin (DlFBL) and Haliotis discus discus sialic acid binding lectin (HddSBL) were genetically fused with soluble coxsackie-adenovirus receptor (sCAR), and produced through a bacterial expression system. Results showed that recombinant sCAR-DlFBL not only facilitated adenovirus Ad-EGFP infection in K562/ADR and U87MG cells, but also enhanced the cytotoxicity of adenovirus harboring gene encoding Pinellia pedatisecta agglutinin (PPA) or DlFBL (Ad-PPA or Ad-DlFBL) on U87MG cells through inducing apoptosis. Recombinant sCAR-HddSBL facilitated Ad-EGFP infection, but dramatically counteracted the cytotoxicity of both Ad-PPA and Ad-DlFBL in U87MG cells. Further analysis revealed that sCAR-HddSBL, but not sCAR-DlFBL, significantly upregulated transcription factor E2F1 levels in U87MG cells, which might be responsible for the adverse effect of sCAR-HddSBL on Ad-PPA and Ad-DlFBL. Taken together, our data suggested that sCAR-DlFBL could be further developed to redirect therapeutic adenoviruses to infect cancer cells such as U87MG, and the sCAR-lectin fusion proteins for adenoviral retargeting should be carefully examined for possible survival signaling induced by lectins, such as HddSBL. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structures, Functions and Applications of Marine Lectins)
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3965 KiB  
Article
cDNA and Gene Structure of MytiLec-1, A Bacteriostatic R-Type Lectin from the Mediterranean Mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis)
by Imtiaj Hasan, Marco Gerdol, Yuki Fujii, Sultana Rajia, Yasuhiro Koide, Daiki Yamamoto, Sarkar M. A. Kawsar and Yasuhiro Ozeki
Mar. Drugs 2016, 14(5), 92; https://doi.org/10.3390/md14050092 - 11 May 2016
Cited by 33 | Viewed by 8369
Abstract
MytiLec is an α-d-galactose-binding lectin with a unique primary structure isolated from the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis). The lectin adopts a β-trefoil fold that is also found in the B-sub-unit of ricin and other ricin-type (R-type) lectins. We are [...] Read more.
MytiLec is an α-d-galactose-binding lectin with a unique primary structure isolated from the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis). The lectin adopts a β-trefoil fold that is also found in the B-sub-unit of ricin and other ricin-type (R-type) lectins. We are introducing MytiLec(-1) and its two variants (MytiLec-2 and -3), which both possess an additional pore-forming aerolysin-like domain, as members of a novel multi-genic “mytilectin family” in bivalve mollusks. Based on the full length mRNA sequence (911 bps), it was possible to elucidate the coding sequence of MytiLec-1, which displays an extended open reading frame (ORF) at the 5′ end of the sequence, confirmed both at the mRNA and at the genomic DNA sequence level. While this extension could potentially produce a polypeptide significantly longer than previously reported, this has not been confirmed yet at the protein level. MytiLec-1 was revealed to be encoded by a gene consisting of two exons and a single intron. The first exon comprised the 5′UTR and the initial ATG codon and it was possible to detect a putative promoter region immediately ahead of the transcription start site in the MytiLec-1 genomic locus. The remaining part of the MytiLec-1 coding sequence (including the three sub-domains, the 3′UTR and the poly-A signal) was included in the second exon. The bacteriostatic activity of MytiLec-1 was determined by the agglutination of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, which was reversed by the co-presence of α-galactoside. Altogether, these data support the classification of MytiLec-1 as a member of the novel mytilectin family and suggest that this lectin may play an important role as a pattern recognition receptor in the innate immunity of mussels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structures, Functions and Applications of Marine Lectins)
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