A 66-kDa lectin (OmA) was purified from the serum of the Yucatan peninsula endemic octopus (Octopus maya) by a single step affinity chromatography on glutaraldehyde-fixed stroma from rat erythrocytes. OmA corresponds to 0.8% of the total circulating protein in the hemolymph; it is composed of three equal subunits of 22kDa each, and 7.4% of linked carbohydrates. The amino acids' composition indicated that agglutinin contained mainly aspartic and glutamic acids, and cysteine and methionine were identified in minor proportion. OmA agglutinates mainly rat, guinea pig, and rabbit erythrocytes, and this activity is partially inhibited by galactosamine, melobiose, galacturonic acid, mannose, and methyl alpha and beta galactosides. Hemagglutinating activity is not dependent on divalent cations, such as Ca(2+), Mg(2+), or Mn(2+). The OmA subunits showed no identity for any lectin in databases but partial identity with the type A hemocyanin from Octopus dolfleini hemolymph; the main similarities are related to tyrosinase domains and copper A and B sites that conform to the oxygen-binding site of hemocyanin.
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