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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Exploring Protein-Glycan Interactions: Advances in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Published on: August 26, 2025
Binding of mannose-binding lectin to fructosamines: a potential link between hyperglycaemia and complement activation
Juliette Fortpied1, Didier Vertommen, Emile Van Schaftingen
1Laboratory of Physiological Chemistry, de Duve Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Background:
Complement activation via the MBL pathway has been proposed to play a role in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications. As protein glycation is increased in diabetes, we tested the possibility that the glycation product fructoselysine is a ligand for MBL and that its interaction with this protein may initiate complement activation.
Methods:
We investigated the binding of MBL to fructoselysine by chromatography of human serum on fructoselysine-Sepharose, followed by Western blot and mass spectrometry analysis. We also performed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays using purified MBL and fructoselysine-derivatized (binding assay) or mannan-coated plates (inhibition assay). Complement activation was determined by the fixation of C3d following incubation of fructoselysine-derivatized plates with serum from subjects with different levels of MBL.
Results:
MBL and its associated proteases were selectively purified from serum by chromatography on fructoselysine-Sepharose. Competition experiments indicated that MBL had a similar affinity for mannose, fructose and fructoselysine. MBL bound, in a highly cooperative manner, to fructoselysine-derivatized plates. This binding was associated with complement activation and was much lower with serum from subjects with low-MBL genotypes.
Conclusions:
MBL binding to fructoselysine and the ensuing complement activation may provide a physiopathological link between enhanced glycation and complement activation in diabetes. The cooperative character of this binding may explain the high sensitivity of diabetic complications to hyperglycaemia.
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