Any of a group of glycoproteins of primarily plant (usually seed) origin that binds to glycoproteins on the surface of cells causing agglutination, precipitation, or other phenomena resembling the action of specific antibody; lectins include plant agglutinins (phytoagglutinins, phytohemagglutinins), plant precipitins, and perhaps certain animal proteins; some have mitogenic properties and induce lymphocyte transformation. [L. lego, pp. lectum, to select, + -in]
- mitogenic l. a l. that induces the replication of polynucleic acids and the proliferation of lymphocytes.
* * *
lec·tin 'lek-tən n any of a group of proteins esp. of plants that are not antibodies and do not originate in an immune system but bind specifically to carbohydrate-containing receptors on cell surfaces (as of red blood cells)
* * *
lec·tin (lekґtin) any of a group of hemagglutinating proteins, found primarily in plant seeds, which bind specifically to the branching sugar molecules of glycoproteins and glycolipids on the surface of cells. Certain lectins selectively cause agglutination of erythrocytes of certain blood groups and of malignant cells but not their normal counterparts; others stimulate the proliferation of lymphocytes.Medical dictionary. 2011.