Described herein are engineered microbe-targeting or microbe-binding molecules, kits comprising the same and uses thereof. Some particular embodiments of the microbe-targeting or microbe-binding molecules comprise a carbohydrate recognition domain of mannose-binding lectin, or a fragment thereof, linked to a portion of a Fc region. In some embodiments, the microbe-targeting molecules or microbe-binding molecules can be conjugated to a substrate, e.g., a magnetic microbead, forming a microbe-targeting substrate (e.g., a microbe-targeting magnetic microbead). Such microbe-targeting molecules and/or substrates and the kits comprising the same can bind and/or capture of a microbe and/or microbial matter thereof, and can thus be used in various applications, e.g., diagnosis and/or treatment of an infection caused by microbes such as sepsis in a subject or any environmental surface. Microbe-targeting molecules and/or substrates can be regenerated after use by washing with a low pH buffer or buffer in which calcium is insoluble.

Methods and kits for assessing the presence of, and for detecting cancer, notably oral cancer, are disclosed. Such methods and kits use one or more lectins operably linked to a fluorophore, wherein the lectin binds differentially to cancerous and non-cancerous tissues, and wherein the fluorophore facilitates visualizing the differential binding. The lectins are applied to the oral mucosa of a subject, the fluorophore is exposed to light, and cancerous regions of the mucosa are visualized. In certain embodiments, the lectin specifically binds to one or more of a -galactoside, an - or -N-acetylglucosamine, or a sialic acid moiety.

The present invention relates to the identification of proteins located on the cell surface of dendritic cells or precursors thereof, particularly antigen presenting dendritic cells. In particular, the present invention relates to compounds such as antibodies that bind these proteins. These compounds can be used to detect and/or enrich a subset of dendritic cells or precursors thereof. These compounds can also be used to target antigens to dendritic cells or precursors thereof to modulate a humoral and/or T cell mediated immune response to an antigen, or used to target cytotoxic agents to dendritic cells or precursors thereof involved in diseased states.

Described is a matrix to identify mother's milk missing fucosyltransferase-2 (FUT2) dependent glycans which comprise a line of a glycan binding protein such as a lectin or antibody suitable to bind 2fucosyl-glycans and a line of a positive control to bind a mother's milk protein. For instance, this matrix is porous and allows for transport by capillary force of compounds of mother's milk such as glycoproteins. Especially, the glycan binding protein is the plant lectin from Ulex europaeus. A diagnostic kit comprising one or more of such matrices and a device suitable to receive such a matrix provided with a milk application window and a read-out window has been described as well. Finally a kit-of-parts comprising such a diagnostic kit and one or more feeding doses of 2fucosyl-glycans has been disclosed.

A Wisteria floribunda monomeric lectin polypeptide is provided. The Wisteria floribunda monomeric lectin polypeptide includes any one of the amino acid sequences selected from the group consisting of: (1) the amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 2; (2) the amino acid sequence defined in (1) above, except that one to 20 amino acids at positions other than Cys272 position is/are deleted, substituted, inserted, or added; and (3) the amino acid sequence defined in (1) or (2) above, further having an N-terminus deletion of one to 30 amino acids, in which Cys272 is alkylated, and the polypeptide is capable of specifically binding to a GalNAc terminal sugar chain.

The present disclosure relates to glycan-based biomarkers for the diagnosis or prognosis of brain damage, such as traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Methods and kits for assessing the presence of, and for detecting cancer, notably oral cancer, are disclosed. Such methods and kits use one or more lectins operably linked to a fluorophore, wherein the lectin binds differentially to cancerous and non-cancerous tissues, and wherein the fluorophore facilitates visualizing the differential binding. The lectins are applied to the oral mucosa of a subject, the fluorophore is exposed to light, and cancerous regions of the mucosa are visualized. In certain embodiments, the lectin specifically binds to one or more of a -galactoside, an - or -N-acetylglucosamine, or a sialic acid moiety.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for measuring a glycan-marker glycoprotein, by which liver disease can be detected with higher accuracy than is possible with conventional methods. Also, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for examining liver disease, by which liver disease can be detected with higher accuracy than is possible with conventional methods. Also, an object of the present invention is to provide a reagent for quantitative determination of a glycoprotein, which is used for the above measurement methods. Furthermore, an object of the present invention is to provide a glycan-marker glycoprotein as an index for clinical conditions of liver disease, which is capable of identifying the clinical conditions of liver disease depending on the progress of liver disease. The method for measuring a glycoprotein is characterized in that: the glycoprotein is at least one glycoprotein selected from alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) and Mac-2-binding protein (M2BP) contained in a sample collected from a subject; when the glycoprotein is AGP, AGP binding to a first lectin selected from AOL and MAL is measured; and when the glycoprotein is M2BP, M2BP binding to a second lectin selected from WFA, BPL, AAL, RCA120, and TJAII is measured.

The present invention relates to a method for diagnosing whether a subject may be at risk for or may suffer from cancer wherein (significantly) lower or (significantly) higher binding of a binding agent to a particular glycan structure of a biomarker glycoprotein compared to a control sample is indicative for said subject to be at risk for or to suffer from cancer. The present invention further relates to a kit for performing said for method of diagnosing whether a subject may be at risk for or may suffer from cancer, comprising a binding agent capable to bind to a glycan structure of a biomarker protein.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method of measuring the amount of a compound containing a sugar chain in a biological sample by a sandwich immunoassay method using a labeled lectin, which method is suitable for reduction of noise originating from impurities and determination of the exact amount of a target compound. The present invention provides a method of measuring the amount of a target compound containing a sugar chain in a biological sample by a sandwich immunoassay method using a labeled lectin (including cases where a target compound-capturing substance other than an antibody is used as a ligand), the method containing adding a sugar chain compound which competes (crosses) with impurities contained in the biological sample in binding with the labeled lectin.