Lectins in the diagnosis of atrophic processes of the gastric mucosa. Opinions and perspectives

Abstract

Lectins are proteins and glycoproteins that have the ability to bind carbohydrate residues on the cell surface in a highly specific manner, in particular, causing their agglutination. Lectins are often involved in cellular recognition, for example, some pathogenic microorganisms use lectins to attach to the cells of the affected organism. Lectins were originally isolated from plant seeds, but they are found in most living organisms. Lectins can cause agglutination of erythrocytes, and also have selective mitogenic activity against various subpopulations of blood cells. Their high specificity is also manifested in the case of pathological processes of atrophy - the direction of using lectins as markers of atrophy in chronic gastritis is considered promising. The prospects for the use of lectins go even further than diagnosis, but even into treatment. There are a number of studies on their use in the treatment of certain forms of cancer.