Medical Definition of Discoidin
1.
A lectin, isolated from the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum, that has a binding site for carbohydrate residues related to galactose. The lectin, that consists of two distinct species (discoidins I and II), is synthesised as the cells differentiate from vegetative to aggregation phase and was originally thought to be involved in intercellular adhesion, but discoidin I is now thought to be involved in adhesion to the substratum by a mechanism resembling that of fibronectin in animals.
This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology
(11 Mar 2008)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Discoidin
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