The properties of lectins and cells surface biopolymers of non-pathogenic corynebacteria

Abstract

Aim. To study lectin properties of non-pathogenic corynebacteria cells and preparations of their surface biopolymers (SBP), extracted by SDS. Methods. SBP were extracted from intact cells by 0.15 M solution of NaCl contains 1 % SDS. Protein content was determined using Lowry method, carbohydrates – with anthrone method. Electrophoresis was performed in SDS-PAGE according to Lemmli. Hemagglutinating activity (HAA) was studied using rabbit erythrocytes. The lectin carbohydrate specificity was determined by reaction of inhibition of hemagglutination. Results. Electrophoretic set of SBP preparations contained the proteins and carbohydrates biopolymers with molecular mass of 10.0–120.0 kDa which did not possess HAA. After extraction of SBP the corynebacteria cells remained viable and have HAA higher than intact cells (64–2048 units). The hemagglutinins of the majority of corynebacteria strains after treatment of cells with SDS exhibited the highest affinity to the bovine submandibular gland mucin and N-acetylneuraminic acid. Conclusions. The examined non-pathogenic strains of corynebacteria were found to contain the lectins, associated with internal layers of a cell wall, which showed a predominant specificity to sialic acids

Bacilli Lectins and Their Targets

“…Lectins are found in all living cells, but their qualitative and quantitative composition can vary considerably. A large-scale search conducted by the authors resulted in the detection of a large number of lectin-producing strains of various saprophytic microorgan isms (bacilli, yeasts, lactic acid bacteria, corynebacteria and nocardia-like bacteria, actinomycetes, streptomycetes, and others) [26,31,32].…”