Biomaterial Database

Lectins (hemagglutinins) in the gut of the important disease vectors. 1997

L Grubhoffer, and V Hypsa, and P Volf

Institute of Parasitology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic.

The review is devoted to the gut lectins/hemagglutinins of the following representatives of important disease vectors: ticks, kissing-bugs, mosquitoes, sandflies and tsetse flies. The paper surveys the recent knowledge on these carbohydrate binding factors with respect to their structural and functional properties, and their significance for pathogen/parasite transmission by the blood-sucking arthropods. Recent results suggest that in most vectors the gut lectin activities are blood-meal enhanced, might participate in blood-meal processing and digestion and could serve as antibacterial and antiparasitic agents.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007303	Insect Vectors	Insects that transmit infective organisms from one host to another or from an inanimate reservoir to an animate host.	Insect Vector,Vector, Insect,Vectors, Insect
D007422	Intestines	The section of the alimentary canal from the STOMACH to the ANAL CANAL. It includes the LARGE INTESTINE and SMALL INTESTINE.	Intestine
D004199	Disease Vectors	Invertebrates or non-human vertebrates which transmit infective organisms from one host to another.	Infectious Disease Vectors,Disease Vector,Disease Vector, Infectious,Disease Vectors, Infectious,Infectious Disease Vector,Vector, Disease,Vector, Infectious Disease,Vectors, Disease,Vectors, Infectious Disease
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001179	Arthropod Vectors	Arthropods, other than insects and arachnids, which transmit infective organisms from one host to another or from an inanimate reservoir to an animate host.	Arthropod Vector,Vector, Arthropod,Vectors, Arthropod
D037102	Lectins	Proteins that share the common characteristic of binding to carbohydrates. Some ANTIBODIES and carbohydrate-metabolizing proteins (ENZYMES) also bind to carbohydrates, however they are not considered lectins. PLANT LECTINS are carbohydrate-binding proteins that have been primarily identified by their hemagglutinating activity (HEMAGGLUTININS). However, a variety of lectins occur in animal species where they serve diverse array of functions through specific carbohydrate recognition.	Animal Lectin,Animal Lectins,Isolectins,Lectin,Isolectin,Lectin, Animal,Lectins, Animal