PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A LECTIN FROM THE MUSHROOM, FLAMMULINA-VELTIPES

A lectin was purified to homogeneity from the mushroom, Flammulina veltipes by zinc acetate treatment and CM-cellulose column chromatography. Its molecular weight was estimated to be 20,000 by gel filtration and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The lectin does not contain carbohydrate, half-cystine, methionine, or histidine.On gel filtration with Sepharose 6B in the presence of 6 M guanidine-HCl, the purified lectin dissociated into two nonidentical subunits, FVA-L (molecular weight, 12,000) and FVA-S (8,000). The hemagglutinating activity was retained only in the FVA-L subunit. The lectin is mitogenic with respect to mouse spleen lymphocytes. © 1979, by the Japanese Biochemical Society.