Concanavalin A from Canavalia ensiformis (Jack bean)

Concanavalin A is a protein containing only β-sheets in its structure, and belongs to the legume lectins family.

Concanavalin A from Canavalia ensiformis (Jack bean) has been used:

• in in vitro cell proliferation assay and cell cycle assessment
• in lymphocyte proliferation
• in splenocyte culturing

Con A is not blood group specific but has an affinity for terminal α-D-mannosyl and α-D-glucosyl residues. Ca²⁺ and Mn²⁺ ions are required for activity. Con A dissociates into dimers at pH 5.6 or below. Between pH 5.8 and pH 7.0, Con A exists as a tetramer; above pH 7.0 higher aggregates are formed. Con A exhibits mitogenic activity which is dependent on its degree of aggregation. Succinylation results in an active dimeric form which remains a dimer above pH 5.6.

Concanavalin A is known to stimulate acute hepatic inflammation and acts as a T‐cell mitogen. It has inhibitory effect on hepatocellular carcinoma by inducing autophagy.

A lymphocyte transformation assay is used to determine suitability for cell culture applications. The mitogenic activity of this product is assessed by bromodeoxyuridine incorporation and is found to have peak incorporation at ≤75 ug lectin/ml of medium.
Where reported, agglutination activity is expressed in μg/ml and is determined from serial dilutions in phosphate buffered saline, pH 6.8, containing Ca²⁺ and Mn²⁺ of a 1 mg per mL solution. This activity is the lowest concentration to agglutinate a 2% suspension of human erythrocytes after 1 hr incubation at 25 °C.