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Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA)

Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) is a lectin that binds to N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and sialic acid. It is of the most studied and useful lectins for it biological applications. Since WGA binds to glycoconjugates its derivatives and conjugates are widely used to label cell membranes and fibrotic scar tissue for fluorescence imaging and analysis. The carbohydrate-binding specificity of WGA is directed against sequences of β-1,4-GlcNAc-linked residues, the chitodextrins. Each monomer contains two identical, non-interacting binding sites which are complementary to 3 or 4 β-1,4-GlcNAc units. Of the monosaccharides examined, only GlcNAc binds to WGA. ManNAc does not bind and GalNAc binds only weakly. iFluor®594 conjugate of WGA might be the brightest red fluorescent WGA conjugate. It exhibits the bright, red fluorescence of the iFluor® 594 dye. iFluor®594 WGA conjugate binds to sialic acid and N-acetylglucosaminyl residues as AF594 WGA conjugate does.

Example protocol

PREPARATION OF STOCK SOLUTIONS

Unless otherwise noted, all unused stock solutions should be divided into single-use aliquots and stored at -20 °C after preparation. Avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles

iFluor® 594-Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) Conjugate stock solution (200X)

Add 500 µL of ddH2O into the powder form to make a 2 mg/mL stock solution.

Note: The reconstituted conjugate solution can be stored at 2-8 °C for short-term storage or at -20 °C for long-term storage.

PREPARATION OF WORKING SOLUTION

iFluor® 594-Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) Conjugate working solution (1X)

Add 5 µL of 200X WGA conjugate solution to 1 mL HHBS Buffer.

Note: The optimized staining concentration may be different with different cell lines. The recommended starting concentration is 5-10 µg/mL for live cells.

SAMPLE EXPERIMENTAL PROTOCOL

Warm the vial to room temperature centrifuge briefly before opening. Staining protocols vary with applications. Appropriate dilution of conjugates should be determined experimentally.

Live Cells Stain
  1. Wash cells twice with a HHBS buffer.
  2. Add 100 µL iFluor® 594-WGA working solution.

  3. Incubate cells with WGA working solution for 10-30 minutes at 37 °C.
  4. Wash cells twice with HHBS buffer.
  5. Image cells on a fluorescence microscope using Cy3/TRITC filter set.
Fixed Cells Stain

WGA conjugates can be also used to stain fixed cells.

  1. Fix cells with 4% Formaldehyde in PBS.

    Note: For fixed cell membrane staining, it is recommended to stain without the permeabilization step. A permeabilization step after fixation can facilitate staining intracellular compartments such as Golgi and Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) structures.

  2. Add 100 µL iFluor® 594-WGA working solution.

  3. Incubate cells with WGA working solution for 10-30 minutes at room temperature.
  4. Wash cells twice with HHBS buffer.
  5. Image cells on a fluorescence microscope using Cy3/TRITC filter set.

Spectrum

Product family

NameExcitation (nm)Emission (nm)Extinction coefficient (cm -1 M -1)Quantum yieldCorrection Factor (260 nm)Correction Factor (280 nm)
iFluor® 488-Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) Conjugate4915167500010.910.210.11
iFluor® 555-Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) Conjugate55757010000010.6410.230.14
iFluor® 647-Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) Conjugate65667025000010.2510.030.03
iFluor® 350-Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) Conjugate3454502000010.9510.830.23
iFluor® 532-Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) Conjugate5375609000010.6810.260.16
iFluor® 680-Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) Conjugate68470122000010.2310.0970.094
iFluor® 700-Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) Conjugate69071322000010.2310.090.04
iFluor® 750-Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) Conjugate75777927500010.1210.0440.039
iFluor® 790-Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) Conjugate78781225000010.1310.10.09

Citations

View all 1 citations: Citation Explorer
Dihydrolycorine Attenuates Cardiac Fibrosis and Dysfunction by Downregulating Runx1 following Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Ni, Tingjuan and Huang, Xingxiao and Pan, Sunlei and Lu, Zhongqiu
Journal: Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity (2021)

References

View all 50 references: Citation Explorer
Wheat germ agglutinin is involved in the protective action of 24-epibrassinolide on the roots of wheat seedlings under drought conditions.
Authors: Avalbaev, Azamat and Bezrukova, Marina and Allagulova, Chulpan and Lubyanova, Alsu and Kudoyarova, Guzel and Fedorova, Kristina and Maslennikova, Dilara and Yuldashev, Ruslan and Shakirova, Farida
Journal: Plant physiology and biochemistry : PPB (2020): 420-427
Membrane-associated gamma-glutamyl transferase and alkaline phosphatase in the context of concanavalin A- and wheat germ agglutinin-reactive glycans mark seminal prostasome populations from normozoospermic and oligozoospermic men.
Authors: Janković, Tamara and Goč, Sanja and Mitić, Ninoslav and Danilović Luković, Jelena and Janković, Miroslava
Journal: Upsala journal of medical sciences (2020): 10-18
Succinylated Wheat Germ Agglutinin Colocalizes with the Toxoplasma gondii Cyst Wall Glycoprotein CST1.
Authors: Guevara, Rebekah B and Fox, Barbara A and Bzik, David J
Journal: mSphere (2020)
Wheat germ agglutinin is a biomarker of whole grain content in wheat flour and pasta.
Authors: Killilea, David W and McQueen, Rebecca and Abegania, Judi R
Journal: Journal of food science (2020): 808-815
Wheat germ agglutinin liposomes with surface grafted cyclodextrins as bioadhesive dual-drug delivery nanocarriers to treat oral cells.
Authors: Wijetunge, Sashini S and Wen, Jianchuan and Yeh, Chih-Ko and Sun, Yuyu
Journal: Colloids and surfaces. B, Biointerfaces (2020): 110572
Page updated on October 8, 2024

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Physical properties

Solvent

Water

Spectral properties

Absorbance (nm)

587

Correction Factor (260 nm)

0.05

Correction Factor (280 nm)

0.04

Extinction coefficient (cm -1 M -1)

2000001

Excitation (nm)

587

Emission (nm)

603

Quantum yield

0.531

Storage, safety and handling

H-phraseH303, H313, H333
Hazard symbolXN
Intended useResearch Use Only (RUO)
R-phraseR20, R21, R22

Storage

Freeze (< -15 °C); Minimize light exposure
UNSPSC12171501

Platform

Fluorescence microscope

ExcitationCy3, TRITC filter set
EmissionCy3, TRITC filter set
Recommended plateBlack wall, clear bottom
Live HeLa cells were stained with&nbsp;iFluor® 594-Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) Conjugate at 5&nbsp;&micro;g/mL for 30 minutes followed by Hoechst 33342 (AAT Cat# 17535). Image was acquired using fluorescence microscopy using&nbsp;Cy3/TRITC&nbsp;and DAPI filter set.
Live HeLa cells were stained with&nbsp;iFluor® 594-Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) Conjugate at 5&nbsp;&micro;g/mL for 30 minutes followed by Hoechst 33342 (AAT Cat# 17535). Image was acquired using fluorescence microscopy using&nbsp;Cy3/TRITC&nbsp;and DAPI filter set.
Live HeLa cells were stained with&nbsp;iFluor® 594-Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) Conjugate at 5&nbsp;&micro;g/mL for 30 minutes followed by Hoechst 33342 (AAT Cat# 17535). Image was acquired using fluorescence microscopy using&nbsp;Cy3/TRITC&nbsp;and DAPI filter set.