Animal Lectins - A Functional View (Electronic book text)

This title 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, particularly in the past 20 years. "Animal Lectins: A Functional View" presents the most up-to-date analysis of these carbohydrate-binding, and potentially lifesaving, proteins in one comprehensive volume.This standard-setting resource presents new insights into the biological roles of most animal lectins, including their function in infection prevention through innate immunity. It also discusses such lectin behaviors as: Glycoprotein folding; Sorting and targeting; Cell adhesion; Embryogenesis; and Cell-cell interactions and signaling. It describes the structural basis of protein-carbohydrate interactions. Under the editorial guidance of two leading protein chemistry experts and with contributions from well-recognized field authorities, this book logically and systematically discusses both intracellular and extracellular lectin functions. It is an essential springboard for future field research and a clear and concise knowledge base that glycobiology, biochemistry, and immunology researchers cannot afford to be without.