A C-type lectin of Caenorhabditis elegans: its sugar-binding property revealed by glycoconjugate microarray analysis.
C-type lectins are a family of proteins with an affinity to carbohydrates in the presence of Ca(2+). In the genome of Caenorhabditis elegans, almost 300 genes encoding proteins containing C-type lectin-like domains (CTLDs) have been assigned. However, none of their products has ever been shown to have carbohydrate-binding activity. In the present study, we selected 6 potential C-type lectin genes and prepared corresponding recombinant proteins. One of them encoded by clec-79 was found to have sugar-binding activity by using a newly developed glycoconjugate microarray based on evanescent-field excited fluorescence. CLEC-79 exhibited affinity to sugars containing galactose at the non-reducing terminal, especially to the Galbeta1-3GalNAc structure, in the presence of Ca(2+). Combined with structural information of the glycans of C. elegans, these results suggest that CLEC-79 preferentially binds to O-glycans in vivo.
Department of Biological Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo University, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan. t-take@pharm.teikyo-u.ac.jp
Tomoharu
T
Takeuchi
Remi
R
Sennari
Ken-ichi
K
Sugiura
Hiroaki
H
Tateno
Jun
J
Hirabayashi
Ken-ichi
K
Kasai
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005690:Galactose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006001:Glycoconjugates / Q000737:chemistry; D037181:Lectins, C-Type / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000378:metabolism*; D040081:Protein Array Analysis; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
C533208:CLEC-79 protein, C elegans; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D006001:Glycoconjugates; D037181:Lectins, C-Type; D011134:Polysaccharides; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D005690:Galactose