Lectin engineering, a molecular evolutionary approach to expanding the lectin utilities.
In the post genomic era, glycomics--the systematic study of all glycan structures of a given cell or organism--has emerged as an indispensable technology in various fields of biology and medicine. Lectins are regarded as "decipherers of glycans", being useful reagents for their structural analysis, and have been widely used in glycomic studies. However, the inconsistent activity and availability associated with the plant-derived lectins that comprise most of the commercially available lectins, and the limit in the range of glycan structures covered, have necessitated the development of innovative tools via engineering of lectins on existing scaffolds. This review will summarize the current state of the art of lectin engineering and highlight recent technological advances in this field. The key issues associated with the strategy of lectin engineering including selection of template lectin, construction of a mutagenesis library, and high-throughput screening methods are discussed.
Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Natural Products, College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China. thudan@jnu.edu.cn.
Dan
D
Hu
Biotechnology Research Institute for Drug Discovery, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Central-2, 1-1-1, Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan. h-tateno@aist.go.jp.
Hiroaki
H
Tateno
Biotechnology Research Institute for Drug Discovery, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Central-2, 1-1-1, Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan. jun-hirabayashi@aist.go.jp.
Jun
J
Hirabayashi
D061505:Cell Surface Display Techniques / Q000379:methods; D037161:Galectins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D006031:Glycosylation; D057166:High-Throughput Screening Assays; D006801:Humans; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed / Q000379:methods; D037121:Plant Lectins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry*; D015202:Protein Engineering / Q000379:methods
D037161:Galectins; D037121:Plant Lectins; D011134:Polysaccharides