title: Carbohydrate binding specificity and purification by biospecific affinity chromatography of Ascidia malaca Traust. hemagglutinins.
abstract: The carbohydrate specificities of  Ascidia malaca serum hemagglutinins were determined by hemagglutination inhibition tests. Analysis of agglutinins against rabbit and human A, B, O erythrocytes suggests that the size of the combining site corresponds to a disaccharide with a specificity for saccharides containing a D-galacto configuration (D-melibiose, D-raffinose, D-galactose, alpha-lactose, lactulose, L-arabinose). No anomeric specificity was observed with oligosaccharides. Hydroxyl groups probably involved in hydrogen-bond formation with agglutinin binding site, were identified as carbons C2, C4, C5 and C6 of D-galactose. Absorption experiments showed that two distinct agglutinins with similar sugar specificity ranges were responsible for rabbit and human erythrocyte agglutination. The D-galactose specificity of the agglutinins allowed the isolation, by biospecific affinity chromatography of the serum, of a protein fraction demonstrated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D001665:Binding Sites; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D002846:Chromatography, Affinity; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D005690:Galactose / Q000378:metabolism; D006385:Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests; D006386:Hemagglutination Tests; D006388:Hemagglutinins / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008553:Melibiose / Q000378:metabolism; D011817:Rabbits; D011887:Raffinose / Q000378:metabolism; D013045:Species Specificity; D014561:Urochordata / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D006388:Hemagglutinins; D008553:Melibiose; D011887:Raffinose; D005690:Galactose