Abstract
Lectins, also called agglutinins or phytohemagglutinins, have been known since 1888 when Stillmark observed that extracts from castor beans (Ricinus communis) contain a proteinaceous hemagglutinating factor (Stillmark, 1888). Even though at that time the basis for the erythrocyte clumping activity was not understood, Stillmark’s finding was a milestone in plant biochemistry because ricin was the first protein to which a well-defined biological activity could be ascribed. Moreover, the pioneering work of Stillmark is also considered as the onset of ‘lectinology’, a scientific discipline covering broad interdisciplinary research on different aspects of lectins. Soon after the discovery of ricin, agglutinating factors were also found in several other plants and the term ‘hemagglutinin’ was introduced as a general name for all substances with hemagglutinating activity. Due to the self-explanatory character of the term agglutinin no other names have been introduced until it turned out that some hemagglutinins exhibited a clear preference towards erythrocytes of a particular human blood group within the ABO system. At that time the term ‘lectin’ (from the Latin verb ‘legere’, which means ‘to select’) was introduced to emphasize the selective agglutination behavior of some hemagglutinins. Later on, the term lectin was not exclusively used for blood group specific hemagglutinins but was applied to all proteins showing a more general agglutination behavior. Therefore, the term ‘hemagglutinin’ is more appropriate as it refers to the capability of the carbohydrate-binding proteins to agglutinate erythrocytes.
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Peumans, W.J., Van Damme, E.J.M. (1999). Seed Lectins. In: Shewry, P.R., Casey, R. (eds) Seed Proteins. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4431-5_28
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4431-5_28
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