A soluble fucose-specific lectin from Aspergillus fumigatus conidia--structure, specificity and possible role in fungal pathogenicity.

ABSTRACT: Aspergillus fumigatus is an important allergen and opportunistic pathogen. Similarly to many other pathogens, it is able to produce lectins that may be involved in the host-pathogen interaction. We focused on the lectin AFL, which was prepared in recombinant form and characterized. Its binding properties were studied using hemagglutination and glycan array analysis. We determined the specificity of the lectin towards l-fucose and fucosylated oligosaccharides, including α1-6 linked core-fucose, which is an important marker for cancerogenesis. Other biologically relevant saccharides such as sialic acid, d-mannose or d-galactose were not bound. Blood group epitopes of the ABH and Lewis systems were recognized, Le(Y) being the preferred ligand among others. To provide a correlation between the

SUBMITTER: Houser J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3858362 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature