Isolation of mannose-binding C-type lectin from Heliothis virescens pupae

A mannose-binding C-type lectin (MBL) was isolated by affinity chromatography from Heliothis virescens immune pupal hemolymph. The immune pupal hemolymph was obtained after bacterial injection of live Enterobacter cloacae bacteria. MBL in mammals acts as an opsonin for phagocytosis and activates the lectin complement pathway of the innate immune response, which leads to killing of gram-negative bacteria and enveloped viruses. The affinity-purified and reduced pupal MBL showed a single band of 36 kDa by SDS-PAGE (12% gel). A dot-immunoblot ELISA (using guinea pig anti-MBL IgG as primary antibody) demonstrated specificity of the antibody for the affinity-purified pupal MBL. The immune pupal hemolymph contained 21 microg of MBL per ml of hemolymph. The amino acid composition of the purified pupal MBL was determined with high amounts of arginine and histidine detected. The presence of MBL in insect pupae has not before been reported and could be important in pupal innate immunity to bacterial infection.