Purification and partial characterization of a new pro-inflammatory lectin from Bauhinia bauhinioides Mart (Caesalpinoideae) seeds.
A new galactose-specific lectin, named BBL, was purified from seeds of Bauhinia bauhinioides by precipitation with ammonium sulfate, followed by two steps of ion exchange chromatography. BBL haemagglutinated rabbit erythrocytes (native and treated with proteolytic enzymes) showing stability even after exposure to 60 °C for an hour. The lectin haemagglutinating activity was optimum between pH 8.0 and 9.0 and inhibited after incubation with D-galactose and its derivatives, especially α-methyl-D-galactopyranoside. The pure protein possessed a molecular mass of 31 kDa by SDS-PAGE and 28.310 Da by mass spectrometry. The lectin pro-inflammatory activity was also evaluated. The s.c. injection of BBL into rats induced a dose-dependent paw edema, an effect that occurred via carbohydrate site interaction and was significantly reduced by L-NAME, suggesting an important participation of nitric oxide in the late phase of the edema. These findings indicate that BBL can be used as a tool to better understand the mechanisms involved in inflammatory responses.
Laboratório de Moléculas Biologicamente Ativas, Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Campus do Pici, s/n; Bloco 907, CEP 60.455-970, Fortaleza-CE, Brazil.
Helton C
HC
Silva
Alfa U
AU
Bari
Francisco N
FN
Pereira-Jénior
Rafael C
RC
Simões
Ito L
IL
Barroso-Neto
Camila B
CB
Nobre
Maria G
MG
Pereira
Kyria S
KS
Nascimento
Bruno Anderson M
BA
Rocha
Plínio
P
Delatorre
Celso S
CS
Nagano
Ana Maria S
AM
Assreuy
Benildo S
BS
Cavada
D000818:Animals; D036481:Bauhinia / Q000737:chemistry*; D004487:Edema / Q000139:chemically induced; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D005690:Galactose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000737:chemistry; D006388:Hemagglutinins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester / Q000494:pharmacology; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D037121:Plant Lectins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology; D011817:Rabbits; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry
D006388:Hemagglutinins; D037121:Plant Lectins; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester; D005690:Galactose