Antimicrobial and Antiparasitic Activity of Lectins

Title:Antimicrobial and Antiparasitic Activity of Lectins

Volume: 16 Issue: 2

Author(s): Florin Iordache, Mariana Ionita, Liviu Ioan Mitrea, Cornelia Fafaneata and Aneta Pop

Affiliation:

Keywords: Antimicrobial activity, host-pathogen interaction, lectins, parasites.

Abstract: Antibiotic resistance is a major problem in current contemporary medicine and it has become a major concern of the 21st century. New resistance mechanisms developed by microorganisms spread greatly, threatening the ability to treat numerous infectious diseases, and increasing the number of nosocomial infections. Besides the role in immunology and glycobiology where they are used as hemaglutinine and identification of complex carbohydrates and glycoconjugates, lectins proved to mediate diversified biological functions like cytotoxicity, complement activation, cell-to-cell and host-pathogen communications, innate immune response, and cell-to-cell signalling. Recently, great interest has been developed for the research and applications of lectins in agriculture and medicine due to their antiparasitic and antimicrobial potentials. This review focuses on the recent data regarding the antimicrobial and antiparasitic activities of lectins, by presenting the role of lectins in host-pathogen interaction and also the cytotoxic effects on microorganisms and parasites. Identification and characterisation of new lectins with antimicrobial activity could serve as a natural alternative for the treatment of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant microorganisms and parasites.

Cite this article as:

Iordache Florin, Ionita Mariana, Mitrea Ioan Liviu, Fafaneata Cornelia and Pop Aneta, Antimicrobial and Antiparasitic Activity of Lectins, Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology 2015; 16 (2) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138920101602150112151907