Carbohydrate and bacterial binding specificity of human intelectin-1

The mucosal surfaces of the human body exist in close contact with complex communities of resident microorganisms termed the microbiome. The microbiome is crucial for host health, and therefore the host must discern between which microbes colonize and which must be cleared. Human soluble lectins are secreted carbohydrate-binding proteins that bind microbes by specific recognition of cell surface glycans. Many soluble lectins are important mucosal innate immune factors, as lectins binding to microbes can result in their clearance from the host. However, the glycan and microbial binding specificities of lectins are poorly defined. In this thesis, I aim to address this gap with a focus on human intelectin-1 (hItln-1). In Chapter 1, I review the recently identified class of lectins, the X-type lectins. The X-type lectins, or intelectins, are found throughout chordates and share highly conserved sequences but their biological roles are not well understood.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctoral

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemistry

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2021

Author dc:creator

• Isabella, Christine R.(Christine Rose)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Laura L. Kiessling.

• Chemistry.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses may be protected by copyright. Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/130825

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/130825