94 INTRODUCTION TO IMMUNOCHEMICAL SPECIFICITY 



human erythrocytes, about which a certain amount of information 

 has been gained by a study of the inhibition of lectins by carbo- 

 hydrates. Let us first consider a receptor detected by extracts of 

 Bauhinia purpurea (Boyd, Everhart, and McMaster, 1958). As al- 

 ready mentioned, extracts of the seeds of this plant can be specific for 

 the N antigen; if they are not N-specific, they can be made so by 

 adding galactose or disaccharide containing galactose. The anti-N 

 specificity of Bauhinia extracts depends on the presence of sufficient 

 amounts of one or more sugars, probably galactose or galactose 



TABLE 7-4 

 Inhibition of Dialyzed Bauhinia Extract by Carbohydrates* 



^ Equal amounts of the carbohydrate solution, lectin, and cell suspension were 

 mixed. The symbol U means that the carbohydrate solution (O.IM) was used 

 undiluted. The numbers signify strength of agglutination, 4 being the strongest 

 (all the erythrocytes stuck together in one large clump). Negative reactions are 

 recorded as 0. 



