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Lectins of Marine Origin and Their Clinical Applications

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Antitumor Potential and other Emerging Medicinal Properties of Natural Compounds

Abstract

During the past several decades, intensive investigations have been conducted to clarify the biochemical and physiological properties of lectins from marine organisms, including cyanobacteria, algae, and invertebrates and fish. These investigations have revealed that lectins are highly diversified in terms of not only structural aspects but also functional aspects, including unique carbohydrate-binding specificities. Lectins are still being intensively investigated to understand their biological roles in cell recognition and biodefense as well as to employ them as valuable tools for studying complex carbohydrates in solution and on cell surfaces. Here, we review the structures and activities of lectins from marine organisms and their applications as carbohydrate recognition molecules and medicinal agents with antitumor and antiviral activities.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (23380121) from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture of Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan

    Yasuharu Watanabe, Takako Naganuma, Tomohisa Ogawa & Koji Muramoto

Authors
  1. Yasuharu Watanabe
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  2. Takako Naganuma
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  3. Tomohisa Ogawa
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  4. Koji Muramoto
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Koji Muramoto .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Bayview Boulevard Street 251, Baltimore, 21224-6825, Maryland, USA

    Evandro Fei Fang

  2. , School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR

    Tzi Bun Ng

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Watanabe, Y., Naganuma, T., Ogawa, T., Muramoto, K. (2013). Lectins of Marine Origin and Their Clinical Applications. In: Fang, E., Ng, T. (eds) Antitumor Potential and other Emerging Medicinal Properties of Natural Compounds. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6214-5_4

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