pmc logo image
Logo of biochemjBJ Latest papers and much more!

Formats:

Biochem J. 1983 December 1; 215(3): 433–439.
PMCID: PMC1152420
Purification and properties of two lectins from the latex of the euphorbiaceous plants Hura crepitans L. (sand-box tree) and Euphorbia characias L. (Mediterranean spurge).
L Barbieri, A Falasca, C Franceschi, F Licastro, C A Rossi, and F Stirpe
Abstract
1. From the latex of two members of the plant family Euphorbiaceae, Hura crepitans L. (sand-box tree) and Euphorbia characias L. (Mediterranean spurge), two lectins were purified by affinity chromatography on acid-treated Sepharose 6B followed by elution with D-galactose. 2. The lectin from E. characias is a single molecular species with Mr 80 000, made up of two identical subunits with Mr 40 000, and is a glycoprotein containing 11% carbohydrate. 3. The lectin from H. creptians appears as a mixture of three isolectins with Mr 140 000, consisting of four different subunits with Mr values 37 500, 35 500, 31 000, and 29 000. 4. Both lectins have haemagglutinating activity, with no specificity for human blood groups. The haemagglutinating activity is inhibited by D-galactose and by galactose-containing oligosaccharides. 5. The lectin from H. crepitans is mitogenic to human T-, but not to B-, lymphocytes. The latex of E. characias is mitogenic to T- and, to a lesser extent, to B-, lymphocytes, but the purified E. characias lectin has no mitogenic activity. 6. The lectin from H. crepitans, but not that from E. characias, inhibits protein synthesis by a rabbit reticulocyte lysate.
Full text
Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. Get a printable copy (PDF file) of the complete article (1.0M), or click on a page image below to browse page by page. Links to PubMed are also available for Selected References.
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
  • Barbieri L, Lorenzoni E, Stirpe F. Inhibition of protein synthesis in vitro by a lectin from Momordica charantia and by other haemagglutinins. Biochem J. 1979 Aug 15;182(2):633–635. [PubMed]
  • Dunstan DR, Grant AM, Marshall RD, Neuberger A. A protein, immunologically similar to Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein, produced by cultured baby hamster kidney cells. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1974 Jul 30;186(1085):297–316. [PubMed]
  • Ersson B, Aspberg K, Porath J. The phytohemagglutinin from sunn hemp seeds (Crotalaria juncea). Purification by biospecific affinity chromatography. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1973 Jun 15;310(2):446–452. [PubMed]
  • Falasca A, Franceschi C, Rossi CA, Stirpe F. Purification and partial characterization of a mitogenic lectin from Vicia sativa. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1979 Mar 27;577(1):71–81. [PubMed]
  • Falasca A, Franceschi C, Rossi CA, Stirpe F. Mitogenic and haemagglutinating properties of a lectinpurified from Hura crepitans seeds. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1980 Sep 17;632(1):95–105. [PubMed]
  • Franceschi C, Licastro F, Chiricolo M, Bonetti F, Zannotti M, Fabris N, Mocchegiani E, Fantini MP, Paolucci P, Masi M. Deficiency of autologous mixed lymphocyte reactions and serum thymic factor level in Down's syndrome. J Immunol. 1981 Jun;126(6):2161–2164. [PubMed]
  • Jaffé WG, Seidl D. Crepitin, a phytohemagglutinin from Hura crepitans. Experientia. 1969 Aug 15;25(8):891–892. [PubMed]
  • Laemmli UK. Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4. Nature. 1970 Aug 15;227(5259):680–685. [PubMed]
  • LOWRY OH, ROSEBROUGH NJ, FARR AL, RANDALL RJ. Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem. 1951 Nov;193(1):265–275. [PubMed]
  • MARTIN RG, AMES BN. A method for determining the sedimentation behavior of enzymes: application to protein mixtures. J Biol Chem. 1961 May;236:1372–1379. [PubMed]
  • McPherson A, Hoover S. Purification o mitogenic proteins from Hura crepitans and Robinia pseudaccacia. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1979 Jul 27;89(2):713–720. [PubMed]
  • Pere M, Pere D, Rouge P. Isolement et étude des propriétés physico-chimiques et biologiques des lectines d'Hura crepitans. Planta Med. 1981 Apr;41(4):344–350. [PubMed]
  • Premaratna A, Shadaksharaswamy M, Nanjappa S. Isolation, purification & properties of a lectin from the latex of Synadenium grantii Hook f. Indian J Biochem Biophys. 1981 Feb;18(1):32–35. [PubMed]
  • Stirpe F, Olsnes S, Pihl A. Gelonin, a new inhibitor of protein synthesis, nontoxic to intact cells. Isolation, characterization, and preparation of cytotoxic complexes with concanavalin A. J Biol Chem. 1980 Jul 25;255(14):6947–6953. [PubMed]
  • Stirpe F, Williams DG, Onyon LJ, Legg RF, Stevens WA. Dianthins, ribosome-damaging proteins with anti-viral properties from Dianthus caryophyllus L. (carnation). Biochem J. 1981 May 1;195(2):399–405. [PubMed]
  • Weber K, Osborn M. The reliability of molecular weight determinations by dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. J Biol Chem. 1969 Aug 25;244(16):4406–4412. [PubMed]