About the Lectin

A lectin was purified from the tubers of Arum
maculatum (family Araceae). AMA is not a glycoprotein and
has a subunit molecular weight of 14,600. It is specifically
inhibited by N-acetyllactosamine (Gal beta 1,4GlcNAc),
but asialoglycoproteins which contain N-acetyllactosamine
structures are even more effective inhibitors of the lectin.¹
The recombinant lectin is composed of two different 12-kD
lectin subunits.²

AMA is a non-glycosylated protein with 20-kDa
molecular mass agglutinating human ejaculated spermatozoa,
but not human erythrocytes. The agglutination was blocked
in the presence of N-acetylneuraminic acid indicating that the
lectin is sialoglycoprotein specific. Chlamydia pneumoniae
strain AR-39 showed considerable potential to grow in murine
L-929 fibroblast cells. Pretreatment of the cell monolayers with
purified lectin reduced the entry and intracellular replication
of C. pneumoniae. These results suggest that the isolated lectin
prevents attachment by binding to a C. pneumoniae specific
sialoglycoprotein receptor expressed on the surface of L-929
fibroblast cells.³

Arum maculatum extracts were tested in vitro
for antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus
ATCC 65538, Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228,
Escherichia coli ATCC 8739, Klebsiella pneumonia ATCC
4352, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 1539, Salmonella typhi,
Shigella flexneri, Proteus mirabilis and Candida albicans
ATCC 10231, using microbroth dilution technique according
to National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards
(NCCLS). This research showed that Arum maculatum,
Datura stramonium, Geranium asphodeloides and Equisetum
telmateia petroleum ether extracts had MIC values of 39.1mug/ml, 78.1mug/ml, 78.1mug/ml and 39.1mug/ml, respectively
against Staphylococcus epidermidis.⁴

REFERENCES

1. Allen AK.Biochim Biophys Acta. 1995 May 11;1244(1):129-32.
2. Van Damme EJ, et al. Plant Physiol. 1995 Apr;107(4):1147-58.
3. Mladenov IV et. al. FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol. 2002 Feb
   18;32(3):249-54.
4. Uzun E, Sariyar G, et al. J Ethnopharmacol. 2004 Dec;95(2-3):287-296.