title: A family of concanavalin A-binding peptides from a hexapeptide epitope library.
abstract: The lectin concanavalin A (Con A) binds methyl alpha-D-mannopyranoside (Me alpha Man) as well as alpha-D-mannosyl groups at the nonreducing terminus of oligosaccharides. Ligand peptides that mimic the binding of Me alpha Man to Con A were identified from screening an epitope library composed of filamentous phage displaying random hexapeptides. A consensus sequence was identified among affinity-purified phage; Con A binds phage bearing this sequence and is inhibited from doing so by Me alpha Man. When tested for binding against a panel of lectins, phage bearing this sequence bind only weakly to a closely related D-mannose-binding lectin, indicating that binding to Con A is highly selective. A synthetic peptide bearing the consensus sequence blocks the precipitation of Con A by dextran with an inhibition strength equivalent to that of methyl alpha-D-glucopyranoside. These results demonstrate that the specificity of Con A is not limited to carbohydrates and that highly selective sugar-mimics for lectins of plant, animal, or bacterial origin may be identified from epitope libraries.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia 65211.
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Loganathan
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Easley
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: I J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Goldstein
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D003090:Coliphages / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003208:Concanavalin A / Q000378:metabolism*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D000939:Epitopes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding
chemical_list: D000939:Epitopes; D009842:Oligopeptides; D003208:Concanavalin A