The lectin pathway is a type of cascade reaction in the complement system, similar in structure to the classical complement pathway, in that, after activation, it proceeds through the action of C4 and C2 to produce activated complement proteins further down the cascade. In contrast to the classical complement pathway, the lectin pathway does not recognize an antibody bound to its target. The lectin pathway starts with mannose-binding lectin (MBL) or ficolin binding to certain sugars.

In this pathway, mannose-binding lectin binds to mannose, glucose, or other sugars with 3- and 4-OH groups placed in the equatorial plane, in terminal positions on carbohydrate or glycoprotein components of microorganisms including bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria, and Neisseria strains.

Mannan-binding lectin, also called mannose-binding protein, is a protein belonging to the collectin family that is produced by the liver and can initiate the complement cascade by binding to pathogen surfaces.

MBL forms oligomers of subunits, which are trimers (6- to 18-heades correspond to a dimer and a hexamer, respectively). Multimers of MBL form a complex with MASP1 (Mannose-binding lectin-Associated Serine Protease), MASP2 and MASP3, that are protease zymogens. The MASPs are very similar to C1r and C1s molecules of the classical complement pathway, respectively, and are thought to have a common evolutionary ancestor. When the carbohydrate-recognising heads of MBL bind to specifically arranged mannose residues on the surface of a pathogen, MASP-1 and MASP-2 are activated to cleave complement components C4 and C2 into C4a, C4b, C2a, and C2b

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