The binding of a carbohydrate to a lectin may affect the conformation of the ligand. To address this question for the galectin from chicken liver, the conformation of Gal1-2Gal1-R was analyzed in the free and in the galectin-bound state with 2D-ROESY-and 1D-as well as 2D-transferred NOE-experiments. A computerassisted analysis of spatial parameters of the ligand by molecular dynamics (MD) and random walk molecular mechanics (RAMM) calculations, taking different dielectric constants from ⑀ ס 1 to ⑀ ס 80 and various force fields into account, were instrumental to define the energetic minima of the free state. NMR-derived interresidual distance constraints enabled a conformational mapping. The two overlapping interresidual distance constraints obtained from transferred-NOE experiments of the galectin-ligand complex clearly support the notion that the conformation of the disaccharide in the bound state is at least very close to its global energy minimum state in solution. © 1996 Academic Press, Inc.Protein-carbohydrate interactions can guide crucial physiological reactions such as cell adhesion, inter-and intracellular glycoprotein routing and regulation of various cellular functions (1, 2). Their evident importance prompts to analyze in detail the molecular characteristics of this type of recognition in solution. The combination of computer-assisted calculations of the conformation and NMR-based experiments for the free ligand and lectin-saccharide complex provides a suitable tool to address this question. It enables us to compare spatial parameters of a certain ligand before and after association with members of a lectin family with similar binding specificity, e.g. to galactosides. Agglutinins of this class mediate cell-matrix interactions and enhance immune functions (3-5). Due to the remarkable affinity of Gal1-2Gal1-R to the immunomodulatory Viscum album agglutinin, reported previously (6, 7), we have chosen to map conformational aspects of this high-affinity ligand for galactoside-binding lectins of organisms from different branches of the evolutionary tree. Herein, we report the first study in this area for an animal galectin. Transferred nuclear Overhauser effect (TRNOE)-based experiments in combination with conformational distance mapping, random walk molecular mechanics (RAMM) and molecular dynamics (MD) calculations indicate that the actual conformations of this disaccharide in the complex and in the free form are at least very similar.