A Novel mode of Carbohydrate Recognition in Jacalin, Moraceae Plant Lectin with a Beta-Prism Fold

Sankaranarayanan, Rajan and Sekar, Kanakaraj and Banerjee, Rahul and Vivek, Sharma and Surolia, Avadhesha and Vijayan, Mamannamana (1996) A Novel mode of Carbohydrate Recognition in Jacalin, Moraceae Plant Lectin with a Beta-Prism Fold. In: Nature Structural Biology, 3 (7). pp. 596-603.

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Abstract

Jacalin, a tetrameric two-chain lectin (66,000 M-r) from jackfruit seeds, is highly specific for the tumour associated T-antigenic disaccharide. The crystal structure of jacalin with methyl-alpha-D-galactose reveals that each subunit has a three-fold symmetric beta-prism fold made up of three four-stranded beta-sheets. The lectin exhibits a novel carbohydrate-binding site involving the N terminus of the alpha-chain which is generated through a post-translational modification involving proteolysis, the first known instance where such a modification has been used to confer carbohydrate specificity. This new lectin fold may be characteristic of the Moraceae plant family. The structure provides an explanation for the relative affinities of the lectin for galactose derivatives and provides insights into the structural basis of its T-antigen specificity.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Nature Structural Biology
Publisher:	Nature Publishing Group
Additional Information:	Copyright belongs to Nature Publishing Group
Keywords:	jacalin;two chain lectin;carbohydrates;beta prism fold;moraceae plant
Department/Centre:	Division of Biological Sciences > Molecular Biophysics Unit
Date Deposited:	14 Sep 2004
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 04:14
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/1244

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