Lectins, Interconnecting Proteins with Biotechnological/Pharmacological and Therapeutic Applications

Figure 3

Differential interaction of lectins with cells expressing diverse glycosylation pattern. Mucins constitute a glycosylated protein family with high molecular weight, expressed by epithelial tissues. In normal cells (a) the mucin is extensively glycosylated and more than 50% of its molecular mass corresponds to oligosaccharide chains, which may be difficult or impair the interaction of lectins and the carbohydrate residues from mucin. On the other hand, in its tumor counterparts (b), the mucin generally has fewer oligosaccharide side chains, which may facilitate the binding between lectins and glycosylated sites. ECM = extracellular medium; ICM = intracellular medium.

(a)

(b)