Glycodendrimers and Modified ELISAs: Tools to Elucidate Multivalent Interactions of Galectins 1 and 3

Molecules. 2015 Apr 20;20(4):7059-96. doi: 10.3390/molecules20047059.

Abstract

Multivalent protein-carbohydrate interactions that are mediated by sugar-binding proteins, i.e., lectins, have been implicated in a myriad of intercellular recognition processes associated with tumor progression such as galectin-mediated cancer cellular migration/metastatic processes. Here, using a modified ELISA, we show that glycodendrimers bearing mixtures of galactosides, lactosides, and N-acetylgalactosaminosides, galectin-3 ligands, multivalently affect galectin-3 functions. We further demonstrate that lactose functionalized glycodendrimers multivalently bind a different member of the galectin family, i.e., galectin-1. In a modified ELISA, galectin-3 recruitment by glycodendrimers was shown to directly depend on the ratio of low to high affinity ligands on the dendrimers, with lactose-functionalized dendrimers having the highest activity and also binding well to galectin-1. The results depicted here indicate that synthetic multivalent systems and upfront assay formats will improve the understanding of the multivalent function of galectins during multivalent protein carbohydrate recognition/interaction.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Binding Sites
  • Dendrimers / chemistry
  • Dendrimers / metabolism
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Galectin 1 / chemistry
  • Galectin 1 / metabolism*
  • Galectin 3 / chemistry
  • Galectin 3 / metabolism*
  • Glycosides / chemistry
  • Glycosides / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Protein Binding

Substances

  • Dendrimers
  • Galectin 1
  • Galectin 3
  • Glycosides