An Inulin-Specific Lectin with Anti-HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase, Antiproliferative, and Mitogenic Activities from the Edible Mushroom Agaricus bitorquis

A novel lectin (ABL) was purified from the dried fruiting bodies of Agaricus bitorquis. An efficient 3-step purification protocol involved two consecutive steps of ion exchange chromatography on Q-Sepharose and SP-Sepharose and gel filtration by FPLC on Superdex 75. ABL is a monomeric protein with the molecular mass of 27.6 kDa, which is different from other lectins from genus Agaricus. Its N-terminal amino acid sequence is EYTISIRVYQTNPKGFNRPV which is unique and sharing considerably high similarity of other mushroom lectins. The hemagglutinating activity of the lectin was inhibited by inulin. Based on hemagglutination tests, ABL prefers rabbit, human type A, and AB erythrocytes to human type B and O erythrocytes. The lectin inhibits the activity of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase and the proliferation of leukemia cell (L1210) with an IC50 value of 4.69 and 4.97 μM, respectively. Furthermore, ABL demonstrates the highest mitogenic activity with a response of 24177.7 ± 940.6 [3H-methyl] thymidine counts per minute (CPM) at a concentration of 0.91 μM