This text embraces all animal sources from unicellular protozoa and slime moulds through to invertebrates to mammals and birds. It introduces animal lectins on both a phylogeneric and structural basis and outlines their biomedical applications.

Introduces Groundbreaking Approaches for Assessing Lectin Function Lectins and their ligands are under quite a heavy microscope due to their potential applications to pharmacology, immunology, cancer therapy, and agriculture. With growing interest in the glycobiology field, the body of research related to lectin roles has grown at an explosive rate

Plant lectins are extensively used as tools and as bioactiveproteins in different areas of biomedical and biological research.The Handbook of Plant Lectins provides a comprehensive yet conciseoverview of the biochemical properties, carbohydrate-bindingspecificity, biological activities and applications of most of thecurrently known plant lectins. This handbook consists of two majorsections: an introductory guide and a quick reference dictionary.Part I acquaints the newcomer to the lectin field with theessential information on lectins and their importance tobiomedicine: * what are lectins? * their carbohydrate-binding specificity * effects on nutrition and immunology * use in histochemistry * application as therapeutic agents Part II lists approximately 200 lectin entries in alphabeticalorder. Each entry deals with the lectin(s) of a particular plantand provides, (where known), details of: * isolation and characterisation; * sugar binding specificity; * biological activities; * applications; * commercial availability; and, * a bibliography. Useful summary tables list lectins according to their specificity,thereby allowing the user to choose the best lectin for theirapplication. A list of suppliers is also provided. Handbook ofPlant Lectins will be of interest to biologists and biomedicalresearchers studying cell biology, cancer research, nutrition,immunology, pathology and physiology.

This Second Edition brings readers up to date with all the latest findings in lectin research. Throughout this new edition, more than 200 figures and some thirty tables help readers visualize and understand key concepts and processes. The book starts with an overview of lectin research followed by a survey of the occurrence of lectins in nature. Other areas covered include the nutritional effects of lectins and their functions in nature.

Lectins are a diverse family of carbohydrate-binding proteins determined in all flora and animals (1). while animal lectins play diverse roles in ordinary physiological features, the function of plant lectins is less clean. but, they appear to be worried in flora' defenses towards insects and other herbivores. a few plant lectins are even poisonous. within the case of the poison ricin -- a lectin from the castor oil plant -- they can be lethal.

Animal Lectins: Form, Function and Clinical Applications presents up-to-date knowledge of animal lectins. Detailed descriptions on biological activities, tissue and/or subcellular distribution, molecular structure, gene organization, possible functions, clinical applications, lectin-ligand interactions and their intervention for therapeutic purposes are provided. The recently discovered C-type lectins as well as further novel super-families of this group of molecules are described in detail. Furthermore, the clinical significance of animal lectins in inflammatory diseases, defects of immune defense and autoimmunity are described and their application as drugs and therapeutic targets is discussed. With the increasing interest in lectins in biomedical research and their therapeutic applications, this book on animal lectins and associated proteins is a must have for researchers in the area.