Abstract
Pulchellins are highly toxic type 2 ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) expressed in the seeds of Abrus pulchellus tenuiflorus. Four pulchellin isoforms have been characterized, allowing their classification into two subgroups based on the toxicity levels and sugar-binding specificity. The residues involved in the catalytic mechanism are all conserved amongst the pulchellins, suggesting that the differential toxicity is related to variations in their B-chain behavior. In this chapter, insights into the successful production of active A- and B-chains via heterologous production in Escherichia coli and their assembly in vitro to produce an active heterodimer are discussed in some detail. Additionally, some features of subcellular sorting of native pulchellins are presented. Pulchellin comparative studies have contributed to the knowledge of the molecular bases of biochemical processes, such as sugar binding and toxicity, observed among RIPs.
Keywords
- Haemagglutination Inhibition
- Median Lethal Dose
- Mistletoe Lectin
- Insoluble Inclusion Body
- Refold Protocol
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Araújo, A.P.U., Castilho, P.V., Goto, L.S. (2010). Ribosome-Inactivating Proteins from Abrus pulchellus . In: Lord, J., Hartley, M. (eds) Toxic Plant Proteins. Plant Cell Monographs, vol 18. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-12176-0_7
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