Mushroom Lectins: Specificity, Structure and Bioactivity Relevant to Human Disease

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Mohamed Ali Abol Hassan²  Razina Rouf²  Evelin Tiralongo³  Tom W. May¹  Joe Tiralongo² 

[1] Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, South Yarra, VIC 3141, Australia; E-Mail:;Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Gold Coast, QLD 4222, Australia; E-Mails:;School of Pharmacy and Griffith Health Institute, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Gold Coast, QLD 4222, Australia; E-Mail:

关键词: lectins;    mushrooms;    bioactivity;    structure;    antiproliferative activity;    immunomodulatory activity;    antiviral activity;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms16047802

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Lectins are non-immunoglobulin proteins that bind diverse sugar structures with a high degree of selectivity. Lectins play crucial role in various biological processes such as cellular signaling, scavenging of glycoproteins from the circulatory system, cell–cell interactions in the immune system, differentiation and protein targeting to cellular compartments, as well as in host defence mechanisms, inflammation, and cancer. Among all the sources of lectins, plants have been most extensively studied. However, more recently fungal lectins have attracted considerable attention due to their antitumor, antiproliferative and immunomodulatory activities. Given that only 10% of mushroom species are known and have been taxonomically classified, mushrooms represent an enormous unexplored source of potentially useful and novel lectins. In this review we provide an up-to-date summary on the biochemical, molecular and structural properties of mushroom lectins, as well as their versatile applications specifically focusing on mushroom lectin bioactivity.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.