L-type lectin domain L-type lectin domain In molecular biology the L-like lectin domain is a protein domain found in lectins which are similar to the leguminous plant lectins. Lectins are structurally diverse proteins that bind to specific carbohydrates. This family includes the VIP36 and ERGIC-53 lectins. Although proteins containging this domain were originally identified as a family of animal lectins, there are also yeast representatives. ERGIC-53 is a 53kDa protein, localised to the intermediate region between the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus (ER-Golgi-Intermediate Compartment, ERGIC). It was identified as a calcium-dependent, mannose-specific lectin. Its dysfunction has been associated with combined factors V
Lectin their particular high specificity for foreign glycoconjugates (e.g. those of fungi, invertebrates, and animals) and used in biomedicine for blood cell testing and in biochemistry for fractionation. Although they were first discovered more than 100 years ago in plants, now lectins are known to be present throughout nature. It is generally believed that the earliest description of a lectin was given by Peter Hermann Stillmark in his doctoral thesis presented in 1888 to the University of Dorpat. Stillmark isolated ricin, an extremely toxic hemagglutinin, from seeds of the castor plant ("Ricinus communis"). The first lectin to be purified on a