Concanavalin A as a lymphocyte mitogen

Example: Clinical efficacy and immune regulation with peanut oral immunotherapy. Jones SM et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009 Jul 2.

Lectins are sugar-binding proteins which are highly specific for their sugar moieties (Latin legere, "to select") http://bit.ly/3wgXl5


Crystallographic structure of a tetramer of concanavalin A. Image source: Wikipedia, public domain.

Concanavalin A is a lectin protein, binds specifically to glycoproteins - widely used in labs to characterize glycoproteins. http://bit.ly/ZEtKR

Concanavalin A is a lymphocyte mitogen along with phytohaemagglutinin and pokeweed http://bit.ly/15jH9T


Pokeweed. Image source: Wikipedia, GNU Free Documentation License.

Pokeweed mitogen is derived from Phytolacca americana, considered a major pest by farmers http://bit.ly/sqVrD