ABSTRACT Lectins are a class of proteins that bind to a carbohydrate moiety of glycoconjugates. Biological activities elicited by lectins include cell agglutination, mitosis, toxicity and cell growth inhibition. In view of the potential usefulness of lectins, further development of methods to easily obtain lectins should be encouraged. Recently, we developed a simple method of isolating lectins using agarose coupled with porcine plasma (glyco)proteins. Application of this method to Japanese mistletoe extracts resulted in isolation of apoptosis-inducing lectin, which has potential therapeutic application.
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