Structural and functional similarities of breadfruit seed lectin and jacalin.

Aquous extracts from seeds of Artocarpus altilis (breadfruit) and Artocarpus heterophyllus (jackfruit) were compared by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Two bands of the same size (12 and 15 kD) as the jacalin subunits were the major components in breadfruit seed extract. They strongly reacted with anti-jacalin antibodies by western blotting. The breadfruit lectin displayed the same IgAl and IgD precipitation specificity as jacalin in gel double diffusion experiments. It also stimulated in vitro proliferation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. These results suggest that lectins from both species of Artocarpus are very similar.