Isolation and general characteristics of lectin from the mussel Mytilus trossulus

Abstract

Lectin (MTL) of molecular weight 16,492 Da and pI 6.09 ± 0.01 that was most active in the pH range 9.0–10.0, was thermally labile, and did not require Ca2+ for activation was isolated from the mussel Mytilus trossulus. The MTL was a Gal/GalNAc-specific lectin that exhibited an affinity for glycoproteins containing mucin-type chains. The cross reactivity between MTL and a lectin isolated from the mussel Crenomytilus grayanus was determined. It was shown that MTL at high concentration stimulated expression of TNF-α and IFN-γ; at low concentration, exhibited immunomodulating activity by reducing hyperexpression of cytokine IL-10.