Purification and Characterization of Two Lectins from a Toxic Moray, Gymnothrax javanicus

Abstract

Two lectins, Gymnothrax javanicus lectin-I (GJL-I) and Gymnothrax javanicus lectin-II (GJL-II) were isolated from the stomach and intestine, and the liver, respectively, of a toxic moray eel, Gymnothrax javanicus,. GJL-I is a polymer of two heterogeneous subunits of 67 and 51kDa. In a hemagglutination inhibition assay, it had sugar-binding spcificity toward lactose and lactulose among the mono- or oligo-saccharides and bovine submaxillary mucin (BSM) among the glycoproteins tested. The lectin stimulated nerve growth factor (NGF) synthesis by astroglial cells. GJL-II was a polymer of subunit of 41 kDa. This lectin had N-acetyllactosamine binding specificity.