Abstract
EXTRACTS of wheat germ prepared to contain lipase have been shown to have the additional property of agglutinating mammalian cells1. This agglutinin is heat stable, and thus distinguishable from the lipase, which is destroyed by heating to 65° C. Aub et al. suggested that the agglutinin would agglutinate tumour cells more strongly than the equivalent normal cell1–3. The implication that extracts of wheat germ contain an agglutinin specific for tumour cells is not upheld by the experiments described here, and which involve the ability of extracts of wheat germ to agglutinate red cells and to produce mixed cell agglutination, and the ability of various sugars and salivas to inhibit this agglutinin. Wheat germ lipase (10 mg/ml., Sigma and Calbiochem) was heated at 65° C for 15 min to destroy lipolytic activity1; the preparation was centri-fuged for 10 min at 3,500 r.p.m. to remove the denatured protein, and kept frozen at −20° C.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aub, J. C., Tieslau, C., and Lankester, A., Proc. US Nat. Acad. Sci., 50, 613 (1963).
Aub, J. C., Sanford, B. H., and Cote, M. N., Proc. US Nat. Acad. Sci., 54, 396 (1965).
Aub, J. C., Sanford, B. H., and Wang, L. H., Proc. US Nat. Acad. Sci., 54, 400 (1965).
Swinburne, L. M., Frank, B. B., and Coombs, R. R. A., Vox Sang, 6, 274 (1961).
Krüpe, M., Blutgruppenspezifische Pflanzliche Eiweisskörper (Enke-Verlag, Stuttgart, 1956).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
LISKE, R., FRANKS, D. Specificity of the Agglutinin in Extracts of Wheat Germ. Nature 217, 860–861 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/217860a0
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/217860a0
This article is cited by
-
Haemagglutinin inTriticale
Proceedings / Indian Academy of Sciences (1978)
-
Binding of N-Acetyl-neuraminic Acid by Wheat-germ Agglutinin
Nature New Biology (1973)
-
Agglutination of Normal and Rous Sarcoma Virus-transformed Chick Embryo Cells by Concanavalin A and Wheat Germ Agglutinin
Nature New Biology (1972)
-
Classification of cell types: Agglutination and chromosomal properties
In Vitro (1972)
-
Binding of Radioactively Labelled Concanavalin A and Wheat Germ Agglutinin to Normal and Virus-transformed Cells
Nature New Biology (1971)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.