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Ribosome–Inactivating Proteins from Plants: Present Status and Future Prospects

Bio/Technology volume 10, pages 405–412 (1992)Cite this article

Abstract

Plant ribosome–inactivating proteins (RIPs) N–glycosidases which cleave the N–glycosidic bond of adenine in a specfic ribosomal RNA sequence. Most commonly RIPs are single–chain proteins (type 1 RIPs), but some (type 2 RIPs) possess a galactose–specific lectin domain that binds to cell surfaces. The latter RIPs are potent toxins, the best known of which is ricin. RIPs have antiviral and abortifacient activities, and, in a widespread application, can also be linked to antibodies or ligands to form immunotixins or conjugates specifically toxic to a given type of cell.

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  1. Douglas A. Lappi: Corresponding author.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerche Biotechnologiche, Dipartimento di Patologia Sperimentale, Università di Bologna, I-40126, Bologna, Italy

    Fiorenzo Stirpe, Luigi Barbieri & Maria Giulia Battelli

  2. Dipartimento di Biotecnologia, Istituto Scientifico S. Raffaele, I-20132, Milano, Italy

    Marco Soria

  3. Department of Molecular and Cellular Growth Biology, The Whittier Institute for Diabetes and Endocrinology, 9894 Genesee Avenue, La Jolla, CA, 92037

    Douglas A. Lappi

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  1. Fiorenzo Stirpe
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Stirpe, F., Barbieri, L., Battelli, M. et al. Ribosome–Inactivating Proteins from Plants: Present Status and Future Prospects. Nat Biotechnol 10, 405–412 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0492-405

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