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Konozy EHE, Dirar AI, Osman MEM. Lectins of the Araceae family: Insights, distinctions, and future avenues-A three-decade investigation. Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj 2024; 1868:130667. [PMID: 38971261 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2024.130667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2024] [Revised: 06/09/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/08/2024]
Abstract
The Araceae family boasts >3000 species of flowering plants that thrive across the tropics. Among the focal points of study within this family are lectins, proteins with affinity for binding carbohydrates. This review endeavors to gather data gleaned from numerous studies conducted over the past three decades on lectins extracted from Araceae plants. Our examination spans their extraction and purification methods, their specific interactions with carbohydrates, their molecular structures, and various physicochemical characteristics. Furthermore, we investigated the biological activities of these lectins and investigated the outcomes of cloning their genes. Despite their apparent similarities, these lectins exhibit notable distinctions, particularly regarding their unique preferences in interacting with erythrocytes from animals and humans, their sugar affinities, the critical amino acids for their functionality, the molecular weights of their subunits and their respective topologies, and ultimately, their dimerization and 3D β-prism-II structure, which reportedly diverge from those observed in other GNA-related lectins. These discrepancies not only deepen our understanding of monocot lectins but also render these proteins inherently captivating. This review marks the inaugural attempt at consolidating almost all published reports on lectins from the Araceae family, with the aim of furnishing glycobiology scientists with essential insights into potential laboratory challenges, the characteristics of these lectins, and avenues for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emadeldin Hassan E Konozy
- Department of Biotechnology, Africa City of Technology (ACT), Khartoum, Sudan; Biomedical and Clinical Research Centre (BCRC), College of Health and Allied Sciences (CoHAS), University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
| | - Amina I Dirar
- Medicinal, Aromatic Plants and Traditional Medicine Research Institute (MAPTRI), National Center for Research, P.O. Box 2404, Mek Nimr Street, Khartoum, Sudan
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Vutharadhi S, Ranganatha KS, Nadimpalli SK. Momordica charantia seed proteins - Purification, biochemical characterization of a class II α-mannosidase isoenzyme and its interaction with the lectin and protein body membrane. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 248:126022. [PMID: 37506790 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Momordica charantia seeds contain a galactose specific lectin and mixture of glycosidases. These bind to lectin-affigel at pH 5.0 and are all eluted at pH 8.0. From the mixture, α-mannosidase was separated by gel filtration (purified enzyme Mr ∼ 238 kDa). In native PAGE (silver staining) it showed three bands that stained with methylumbelliferyl substrate (possible isoforms). Ion exchange chromatography separated two isoforms in 0.5 M eluates and one isoform in 1.0 M eluate. In SDS-PAGE it dissociated to Mr ∼70 and 45 kDa subunits, showing antigenic similarity to jack bean enzyme. MALDI analysis confirmed the 70 kDa band to be α-mannosidase with sequence identity to the genomic sequence of Momordica charantia enzyme (score 83, 29 % sequence coverage). The pH, temperature optima were 5.0 and 60o C respectively. Kinetic parameters KM and Vmax estimated with p-nitrophenyl α-mannopyranoside were 0.85 mM and 12.1 U/mg respectively. Swainsonine inhibits the enzyme activity (IC50 value was 50 nM). Secondary structural analysis at far UV (190-300 nm) showed 11.6 % α-helix and 36.5 % β-sheets. 2.197 mg of the enzyme was found to interact with 3.75 mg of protein body membrane at pH 5.0 and not at pH 8.0 suggesting a pH dependent interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shivaranjani Vutharadhi
- Protein Biochemistry and Glycobiology Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 500046, Telangana, India
| | - Kavyashree Sakharayapatna Ranganatha
- Protein Biochemistry and Glycobiology Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 500046, Telangana, India
| | - Siva Kumar Nadimpalli
- Protein Biochemistry and Glycobiology Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 500046, Telangana, India.
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Konozy EHE, Osman MEFM, Dirar AI, Ghartey-Kwansah G. Plant lectins: A new antimicrobial frontier. Biomed Pharmacother 2022; 155:113735. [PMID: 36152414 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2022.113735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Revised: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathogenic bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and other microbes constantly change to ensure survival. Several pathogens have adopted strict and intricate strategies to fight medical treatments. Many drugs, frequently prescribed to treat these pathogens, are becoming obsolete and ineffective. Because pathogens have gained the capacity to tolerate or resist medications targeted at them, hence the term antimicrobial resistance (AMR), in that regard, many natural compounds have been routinely used as new antimicrobial agents to treat infections. Thus, plant lectins, the carbohydrate-binding proteins, have been targeted as promising drug candidates. This article reviewed more than 150 published papers on plant lectins with promising antibacterial and antifungal properties. We have also demonstrated how some plant lectins could express a synergistic action as adjuvants to boost the efficacy of obsolete or abandoned antimicrobial drugs. Emphasis has also been given to their plausible mechanism of action. The study further reports on the immunomodulatory effect of plant lectins and how they boost the immune system to curb or prevent infection.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Amina I Dirar
- Medicinal, Aromatic Plants and Traditional Medicine Research Institute (MAPTRI), National Center for Research, Mek Nimr Street, Khartoum, Sudan.
| | - George Ghartey-Kwansah
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
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Osman MEFM, Dirar AI, Konozy EHE. Genome-wide screening of lectin putative genes from Sorghum bicolor L., distribution in QTLs and a probable implications of lectins in abiotic stress tolerance. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2022; 22:397. [PMID: 35963996 PMCID: PMC9375933 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-022-03792-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sorghum bicolor is one of the most important crops worldwide with the potential to provide resilience when other economic staples might fail against the continuous environmental changes. Many physiological, developmental and tolerance traits in plants are either controlled or influenced by lectins; carbohydrate binding proteins. Hence, we aimed at providing a comprehensive in silico account on sorghum's lectins and study their possible implication on various desired agronomical traits. RESULTS We have searched sorghum's genome from grain and sweet types for lectins putative genes that encode proteins with domains capable of differentially binding carbohydrate moieties and trigger various physiological responses. Of the 12 known plant lectin families, 8 were identified regarding their domain architectures, evolutionary relationships, physiochemical characteristics, and gene expansion mechanisms, and they were thoroughly addressed. Variations between grain and sweet sorghum lectin homologs in term of the presence/absence of certain other joint domains like dirigent and nucleotide-binding adaptor shared by APAF-1, R-proteins, and CED-4 (NB-ARC) indicate a possible neofunctionalization. Lectin sequences were found to be preferentially overrepresented in certain quantitative trait loci (QTLs) related to various traits under several subcategories such as cold, drought, salinity, panicle/grain composition, and leaf morphology. The co-localization and distribution of lectins among multiple QTLs provide insights into the pleiotropic effects that could be played by one lectin gene in numerous traits. CONCLUSION Our study offers a first-time inclusive details on sorghum lectins and their possible role in conferring tolerance against abiotic stresses and other economically important traits that can be informative for future functional analysis and breeding studies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Amina Ibrahim Dirar
- Medicinal, Aromatic Plants and Traditional Medicine Research Institute (MAPTRI), National Center for Research, Mek Nimr Street, Khartoum, Sudan
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Konozy EHE, Osman MEFM. Plant lectin: A promising future anti-tumor drug. Biochimie 2022; 202:136-145. [PMID: 35952948 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2022.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Since the early discovery of plant lectins at the end of the 19th century, and the finding that they could agglutinate erythrocytes and precipitate glycans from their solutions, many applications and biological roles have been described for these proteins. Later, the observed erythrocytes clumping features were attributed to the lectin-cell surface glycoconjugates recognition. Neoplastic transformation leads to various cellular alterations which impact the growth of the cell and its persistence, among which is the mutation in the outer surface glycosylation signatures. Quite a few lectins have been found to act as excellent biomarkers for cancer diagnosis while some were presented with antiproliferative activity that initiated by lectin binding to the respective glycocalyx receptors. These properties are blocked by the hapten sugar that is competing for the lectin affinity binding site. In vitro investigations of lectin-cancer cell's glycocalyx interactions lead to a series of immunological reactions that result in autophagy or apoptosis of the transformed cells. Mistletoe lectin, an agglutinin purified from the European Viscum album is the first plant lectin employed in the treatment of cancer to enter into the clinical trial phases. The entrapment of lectin in nanoparticles besides other techniques to promote bioavailability and stability have also been recently studied. This review summarizes our up-to-date understanding of the future applications of plant lectins in cancer prognosis and diagnosis. With the provision of many examples of lectins that exhibit anti-neoplastic properties.
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Al-Thobaiti SA, Konozy EHE. Purification, Partial Characterization, and Evaluation of the Antiulcer Activity of Calotropis procera Leaf Lectin. Protein Pept Lett 2022; 29:775-787. [PMID: 35927810 PMCID: PMC9896378 DOI: 10.2174/0929866529666220803162457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lectins are proteins with therapeutic and diagnostic potential that can be applied in battling various ailments. AIM AND OBJECTIVE This study was designed to purify and characterize the hemagglutinating activity derived from the leaves of Calotropis procera and its possible role in protecting the stomach against ethanol-induced lesions. METHODS The Calotropis procera leaf lectin (ProLec), was isolated by homogenization of the defatted leaf powder in Phosphate-Buffered Saline (PBS) and purified by affinity chromatography on Sephadex G-100. The lectin was eluted from the affinity column by 3% acetic acid and was physicochemically characterized. In a dose-dependent manner, ProLec was administered to rats with ethanol-induced ulcers, and biochemical, histopathological, and toxicological examinations were performed. RESULTS ProLec is a heterodimer of 75 and 68 kDa. It agglutinated all human RBCs, whereas it showed weak interaction with animal erythrocytes. The protein was optimally active at 25 °C and was labile above this temperature. ProLec exhibited two pH optima and was a metalloprotein requiring Ca, Mn, and Ni. It contains 1.6% tryptophan residues of which about 1% is exposed and critical for lectin activity. The lectin exhibited a potent gastroprotective effect against ethanolinduced gastric lesions with no apparent toxicity to both kidneys and liver. Examination of the pH of the gastric juice of lectin-treated animals indicated a possible role of lectin in maintaining stomach acidity within the normal ranges compared to the gastric juice pH of animals that received ethanol only. CONCLUSION These results may suggest that ProLec could conceivably be a good future drug for the treatment of gastric ulcers, however, extensive immunological and toxicological research remains to be done.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saed A. Al-Thobaiti
- Department of Biology, Turabah University College, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia;,Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Biology, Turabah University College, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia; E-mail:
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Osman MEM, Konozy EHE. Insight into Erythrina Lectins: Properties, Structure and Proposed Physiological Significance. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.2174/1874847301705010057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The genus Erythrina, collectively known as “coral tree”, are pantropical plants, comprising of more than 112 species. Since the early 1980s, seven of these have been found to possess hemagglutinating activity, although not yet characterized. However, around two dozen galactose-binding lectins have been isolated and fully characterized with respect to their sugar specificity, glycoconjugates agglutination, dependence of activity on metal ions, primary and secondary structures and stability. Three lectins have been fully sequenced and the crystal structures of the two proteins have been solved with and without the haptenic sugar. Lectins isolation and characterization from most of these species usually originated from the seeds, although the proteins from other vegetative tissues have also been reported. The main objective of this review is to summarize the physicochemical and biological properties of the reported purified Erythrina lectins to date. Structural comparisons, based on available lectins sequences, are also made to relate the intrinsic physical and chemical properties of these proteins. Particular attention is also given to the proposed biological significance of the lectins from the genus Erythrina.
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