Microbead analysis of cell binding to immobilized lectin. Part II: Quantitative kinetic profile assay for possible identification of anti-infectivity and anti-cancer reagents

There has been a re-emergence of the use of lectins in a variety of therapeutic venues. In addition lectins are often responsible for the binding of pathogens to cells and for cancer cell clumping that increases their escape from body defenses. It is important to define precisely the activity of inhibitors of lectin-binding that may be used in anti-infection and anti-cancer therapeutics. Here we describe a kinetic assay that measures the activity of saccharide inhibitors of lectin binding using a model system of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and lectin (Concanavalin A, Con A) derivatized agarose microbeads that mimics pathogen-cell binding. We show that old methods (part I of this study) used to identify inhibitor activity using only one sugar concentration at one time point can easily provide wrong information about inhibitor activity. We assess the activity of 4 concentrations of 10 saccharides at 4 different times in 400 trials and statistically evaluate the results. We show that d-melezitose is the best inhibitor of yeast binding to the lectin microbeads. These results, along with physical chemistry studies, provide a solid foundation for the development of drugs that may be useful in anti-infectivity and anti-cancer therapeutics.