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Purification and biological effects of Araucaria angustifolia (Araucariaceae) seed lectin.

Santi-Gadelha T, de Almeida Gadelha CA, Aragão KS, de Oliveira CC, Lima Mota MR, Gomes RC, de Freitas Pires A, Toyama MH, de Oliveira Toyama D, de Alencar NM, Criddle DN, Assreuy AM, Cavada BS

Departamento de Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus I, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.

This paper describes the purification and characterization of a new N-acetyl-d-glucosamine-specific lectin from Araucaria angustifolia (AaL) seeds (Araucariaceae) and its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities. AaL was purified using a combination of affinity chromatography on a chitin column and ion exchange chromatography on Sephacel-DEAE. The pure protein has 8.0kDa (SDS-PAGE) and specifically agglutinates rabbit erythrocytes, effect that was independent of the presence of divalent cations and was inhibited after incubation with glucose and N-acetyl-d-glucosamine. AaL showed antibacterial activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive strains, shown by scanning electron microscopy. AaL, intravenously injected into rats, showed anti-inflammatory effect, via carbohydrate site interaction, in the models of paw edema and peritonitis. This lectin can be used as a tool for studying bacterial infections and inflammatory processes.

Published 23 October 2006 in Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 350(4): 1050-5.
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