Intelectin-2 is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial lectin
Name
s41467-025-67099-4.pdf
Description
Published version
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5.16 MB
Format
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Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Dugan, Amanda E
Syangtan, Deepsing
Nonnecke, Eric B
Chorghade, Rajeev S
Peiffer, Amanda L
Yao, Jenny J
Ille-Bunn, Jessica
Sergio, Dallis
Pishchany, Gleb
Dhennezel, Catherine
Date Issued
January 13, 2026
Journal
Nature Communications
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Springer Nature
Citation
Dugan, A.E., Syangtan, D., Nonnecke, E.B. et al. Intelectin-2 is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial lectin. Nat Commun 17, 231 (2026).
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Mammals regulate the localization, composition, and activity of their native microbiota at colonization sites. Lectins residing at these sites influence microbial populations, but their functional roles are often unclear. Intelectins are found in chordates at mucosal barriers, but their functions are not well characterized. In this study, we find that mouse intelectin-2 (mItln2) and human intelectin-2 (hItln2) engage and crosslink mucins via carbohydrate recognition. Moreover, both lectins recognize microbes within native microbial communities, including gram-positive and gram-negative isolates from the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. This ability to engage mammalian and microbial glycans arises from calcium-coordinated binding of carbohydrate residues within mucus and microbial surfaces. Microbes, but not human cells, bound by mItln2 or hItln2, suffer a loss of viability. These findings underscore the crucial antimicrobial role of mammalian intelectin-2 in mucosal defense, where it plays offensive (microbial killing) and defensive (mucus crosslinking) roles in regulating microbial colonization.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemistry
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67099-4
