Background: Recognition of glycans by lectins is emerging as (patho)physiologically broadly used mode of cellular information transfer. Whereas the direct ligand-receptor contact is often already thoroughly characterized, the functional relevance of aspects of architecture such as modular design and valence of lectins is less well defined.
Scope of review: Following an introduction to modular lectin design, three levels of methodology are then reviewed that delineate lectin structure-activity relationships beyond glycan binding, with emphasis on domain shuffling.
Major conclusions: Engineering of variants by modular transplantation facilitates versatile Nature-inspired design switches and access to new combinations with translational potential, as exemplified for human adhesion/growth-regulatory galectins.
General significance: To gain an understanding of the functional significance of natural variations in quaternary structure and modular design within a protein family is a current challenge. Strategic application of methods of the described phases is a means to respond to this challenge.
Keywords: Cell adhesion; Glycoconjugate; Lectin; Mutagenesis; Sugar code.
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