Wheat Germ Agglutinin—From Toxicity to Biomedical Applications

Wheat germ agglutinin is a hevein class N-Acetylglucosamine–binding protein with specific toxicity and biomedical potential. It is extractable from wheat germ—a low-value byproduct of the wheat industry—using well–established extraction methods based on salt precipitation and affinity chromatography. Due to its N-Acetylglucosamine affinity, wheat germ agglutinin exhibits antifungal properties as well as cytotoxic properties. Its anticancer properties have been demonstrated for various cancer cells, and toxicity mechanisms are well described. Wheat germ agglutinin has been demonstrated as a viable solution for various biomedical and therapeutic applications, such as chemotherapy, targeted drug delivery, antibiotic-resistant bacteria monitoring and elimination. This is performed mostly in conjunction with nanoparticles, liposomes, and other carrier mechanisms via surface functionalization. Combined with abundant wheat byproduct sources, wheat germ agglutinin has the potential to improve the biomedical field considerably.

Kinetics of p-aminohippurate secretion in the rabbit

A technique is proposed and tested which permits the calculation of the size and turnover rate of the p-aminohippurate (PAH) secretory pool in the renal cortex of the rabbit in vivo. The secretory pool is here defined as the cellular solute compartment with which secreted solute equilibrates during its transcellular movement from plasma into tubular urine. The calculations are based on the rate of isotopic equilibration of plasma and urine under steady-state conditions. From the influence of various drugs on the characteristics of the secretory pool, it is inferred that 1) similar PAH carrier mechanisms mediate influx into, and outflux from, the secretory pool, and 2) the PAH accumulated within the cells is coextensive with the secretory pool and is present in a free rather than bound form.