Skip Navigation



International Immunology Advance Access published online on October 11, 2006
International Immunology, doi:10.1093/intimm/dxl101
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Supplementary Data
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
18/12/1671    most recent
dxl101v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Zhu, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Ding, J. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Zhu, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Ding, J. L.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Japanese Society for Immunology. 2006. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Received August 22, 2006
Accepted September 12, 2006

Article

Diversity in lectins enables immune recognition and differentiation of wide spectrum of pathogens

Yong Zhu 1, Patricia M. L. Ng 2, Lihui Wang 3, Bow Ho 4, and Jeak Ling Ding 2 *

1 Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543; Present address: Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Proteos, 61 Biopolis Drive, Singapore 138673
2 Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543
3 Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543; Present address: Department of Biochemistry, Oxford University, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK
4 Department of Microbiology, National University of Singapore, 5 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117597

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Jeak Ling Ding, E-mail: dbsdjl{at}nus.edu.sg


  Abstract

Carbohydrate-binding lectins play essential roles as pattern recognition receptors in innate immunity in both vertebrates and invertebrates. The carcinolectins 5 (CL5a and CL5b, the CL5 isoforms of horseshoe crab, Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda, with apparent sizes of 36 and 40 kDa, respectively) are prominent plasma lectins that bind all representative microbes and pathogen-associated molecular pattern molecules. Different cDNA isoforms of both CL5a and CL5b were isolated, leading to our speculation on their functional divergence. Characterization of CL5 isoforms bound to microbial cell surfaces demonstrates the diversity of these lectins. The resolution patterns of the isoforms that associate with fungus differ from those that associate with bacteria, suggesting the unique roles these lectins play in the recognition and differentiation of microbes. We postulate that different populations of plasma lectins act in collaboration in frontline innate immune defense against disparate pathogens. The functional diversity of lectins in invertebrates appears to evolutionarily compensate for the lack of acquired immunity.

Keywords: functional diversity; innate immunity; lectin isoforms; pathogen recognition.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Infect. Immun.Home page
Z. H. Fan, X. W. Wang, J. Lu, B. Ho, and J. L. Ding
Elucidating the Function of an Ancient NF-{kappa}B p100 Homologue, CrRelish, in Antibacterial Defense
Infect. Immun., February 1, 2008; 76(2): 664 - 670.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 GlycobiologyHome page
J. R. Bishop and P. Gagneux
Evolution of carbohydrate antigens--microbial forces shaping host glycomes?
Glycobiology, May 1, 2007; 17(5): 23R - 34R.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.