Dear John,
To address your last question first; Con A will bind to any glycoprotein as
long as it carries appropriate glycans. The specificity of Con A is to
alpha-linked mannose residues so it will bind strongly to oligomannose and
hybrid type glycans. HRP is not a good example. In order to predict what
'proteins' Con A will bind requires a knowledge of the glycosylation of the
protein. In a given cell I would expect that many different glycoproteins
will carry the necessary structures for binding to Con A.
As to a list of Con A binding glycoproteins, I don't know if one has been
collated recently. Pharmacia used to keep a bibliography of applications
for Con A-Sepharose, you could try them. Alternatively, you could look back
at reviews on lectins for information and as possible sources of
references. Try Lis & Sharon (1973) Ann.Rev.Biochem. 42, 541-574 or
Goldstein & Hayes (1978) Adv.Carb.Chem.Biochem. 35, 127-340. Also there's a
book on lectins "The Lectins. Properties, Functions, and Applications in
Biology and Medicine." Eds. Liener, Sharon & Golstein, Academic Press,
(1986).
Good hunting,
David
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Dr David A. Ashford
Plant Glycoprotein Research Facility
The Plant Laboratory
Department of Biology
University of York Tel: (44)(0)1904 434391
P.O. Box 373 Fax: (44)(0)1904 434312
York YO1 5YW Email: da5 at york.ac.uk
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