| 释义 |
lectin Immunol.|ˈlɛktɪn|
[See quot. 1954 and -in1.]
A substance, usu. a protein of plant origin, which has the properties of an antibody but is not produced in response to an antigen.
1954W. C. Boyd in Neurath & Bailey Proteins IIb. xxii. 789 It would appear to be a matter of semantics as to whether a substance not produced in response to an antigen should be called an antibody, even though it is a protein and combines specifically with certain antigens alone. It might be better to have a different word for these substances, and the present writer would like to propose the word lectin, from the Latin lectus, the past participle of legere, meaning to pick, choose, or select. 1971New Scientist 8 Apr. 82/2 Over a dozen different agglutinins or lectins have now been isolated from a variety of plant materials, but most work has centred on just two of them—wheat germ agglutinin and concanavalin A. Both preferentially agglutinate several sorts of transformed cells, including those transformed by polyoma virus. 1971Nature 30 July 299/2 During the past eighteen months plant agglutinins, or lectins.., have become a major topic of conversation in many cancer research laboratories. |