This lectin is a 116,000 to 125,000 molecular weight glycoprotein with an isoelectric point of pH 5.4. Two subunits of about 60,000 daltons are produced in SDS gels, dissociating into 4 chains of about 30,000 daltons in the presence of reducing agents. The binding specificity is not completely clear but this lectin appears to preferentially bind carbohydrate structures terminating in N-acetylgalactosamine linked alpha or beta to the 3 or 6 position of galactose. Used to fractionate lymphocyte populations, the lectin although not mitogenic, elicits the production of lymphokines from murine splenocytes (references available upon request). |