Albumen gland of the snail Achatina fulica is the site for synthesis of Achatinin_H, a sialic acid binding lectin

Abstract

A sialic acid binding lectin, Achatinin_H was purified from the hemolymph of Achatina fulica snail. To identify the site of synthesis of AchatininH, in vitro incubation studies in presence of labelled amino acid precursor were performed. Different organs from the snail were sliced and incubated in methionine-deficient Eagle's minimum essential medium containing [³⁵S] - methionine at 25°C for 5 h. After termination of incubation, tissues were homogenized, centrifuged and the de novo synthesized protein was immunoprecipitated with specific Achatinin_H antibody, followed by protein-A. The precipitated antigen-antibody complex was analysed by SDS-PAGE. Data obtained from native gel electrophoresis and SDS-PAGE radioautographic analysis indicates that Achatinin_H is synthesized in the albumen gland.