Occurrence of Hemagglutinin in Acorn Barnacles

Abstract

In screening of hemagglutinins in marine animals and plants, we found quite active hemagglutinins in the coelomic fluid of acorn barnacles. Among nine species of acorn barnacles examined, coelomic fluids prepared from Balanus roseus, B. trigonus, B. cariosus, B. amphitrite amphitrite, B. balanoides, and Tetraclita squamosa japonica showed agglutinating activity against vertebrate erythrocytes. Hemagglutinins in acorn barnacles were heat-labile and were active in a wide range of pH values between 4 and 10. Adsorption tests revealed that they were nonspecific for human ABH blood groups. The agglutinin from B. balanoides was found to be inhibited specifically by D-galacturonic acid. On the other hand, D-galactose and lactose suppressed agglutinating titer of coelomic fluids prepared from B. roseus and B. trigonus.