Crystallization and preliminary X-ray studies on the lectin from the seeds of Cratylia mollis.

The lectin from the seeds of Cratvlia mollis shows strong binding to human malignant cancerous tissues, particularly those from many glands, uterus, rectum and brain. The C. mollis lectin has been crystallized using the hanging-drop method with polyethylene glycol 6000 as a precipitant. Two different crystal forms were grown from the same drops and they belong to space groups I222 and P2(1)2(1)2(1), respectively. The cell parameters obtained were a = 63.26 (4), b = 77.45 (8) and c = 105.22 (8) A, for the I222 form, and a = 88.83 (5), b = 183.24 (9) and c = 61.70 (2) A for the P2(1)2(1)2(1) crystals. The solution of both structures is currently being attempted by means of molecular replacement techniques.