Prof. Nechama Gilboa-Garber

Scientific Contributions

Pioneer study on human leukocyte and platelet antigens [Nature 1961] - 4 citations

Devising a widely currently used sulfide determination method [Anal. Biochem. 1981] - 118 citations 

Pioneer discovery and study of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa cholinesterase [Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1973] - 29 citations

Pioneer discovery, isolation by affinity chromatography and studies of the pathogenic bacterial  lectins PA-IL and PA-IIL of P. aeruginosa (LecA, galactophilic and Lec B, fucose and mannose-binding) which contribute to its virulence by adhering to the victim host cell saccahrides  [FEBS Lett. 1972;  Can. J. Microbiol., 1977; Meth. Enzymol., 1982, etc.] - 280 citations

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Among the works that cite our above discoveries of PA-IL and PA-IIL lectins and their genes there are several most advanced recent important reports, which use them for the following 

a)  Nanotechnology-based projects where single walled nanotubes bearing these lectins as biosensors are used for nanoelectronic detection of biomolecules replacing optical sensors [Vadala, H.  et al., NanoLett. 2011]

b)  NASA-supported projects (performed under spaceflight conditions in NASA-Space Center, Houston, Texas) aimed to examine the danger of increased pathogenic bacterial (P. aeruginosa) virulence during spaceflight missions. In these studies the two P. aeruginosa lectin genes (also originally isolated by us) were found to be the major P. aeruginosa genes induced under the spaceflight conditions [Crabbe et al., headed by Cheryl A Nickerson, published in Appl. Environ. Microbiol.  2011].

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First demonstrations of bacterial lectin (PA-IL and PA-IIL) mitogenicity for human peripheral lymphocytes and stimulation of Tetrahymena cells [FEMS Microbiol Lett. 1979; J. Protozoology 1980; FEBS Lett. 1987] - 55 citations

Discovery of Erythrina corallodendron ECorL lectin, its mitogenicity and H-blood group specificity [Can. J. Biochem. 1981; Lectins 1994] - 30 citations

Proving that the productions of P. aeruginosa lectins and its other virulence factors are co-regulated [Lectins 1983] - 13 citations

Discovery of Tetraclita squamosa (barnacle) chitin–binding lectin [Mar. Biol. Lett. 1983] - 3 citations

Discovery and studies of Aplysia (giant marine snail) gonad lectin (AGL) - the first galacturonic ac.-specific lectin, its applications for  histochemical and cytochemical studies, for anti - tumoral effects and for isolation of E. coli strains bearing T-antigen-like antigens that cross react with the related cancer antigens, and its interactions with diverse glycans [FEBS Lett. 1985; Anticancer Res.1987; J. Histochem. Cytochem. 1988; J. Biol. Chem. 2000; FEMS Immunol. Med. Microbiol. 2001] - 123 citations

Application of PA-IL (LecA) and PA-IIL (LecB) mix as an effective vaccine against P. aeruginosa [FEMS Microbiol Lett. 1987] - 4 citations

Discovery and study of Ulva lactuca fucose-binding H- and Le-specific lectin ULL [Dev. Comp. Immunol. 1988; Lectins 1994] - 14 citations

Describing PA-IL and PA-IIL lectin interactions with the common ABO(H) and P blood group system {P^k and P₁) glycosphingolipid antigens – a potential contribution to the broad spectrum adherence of P. aeruginosa to human tissues in secondary infections (Glycoconjugate J. 1994) - 38 citations

Forwarding the lectin-enzyme functional postulation [FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 1989] - 35 citations

Isolation of the PA-IL and PA-IIL genes (lecA and lecB), elaboration of their sequences and their expression in E. coli [J. Biol. Chem. 1992; BBA 1994; FEMS Immunol. Med. Microbiol. 2000] - 79 citations

First usage of lectins for studies of halophilic archaea surface saccharides.  [FEMS Microbiol. 1998] - 8 citations

Demonstrtion of P. aeruginosa quorum-sensing (QS) autoinducer-linked lectin production sensitivity to sub-MIC erythromycin [Chemotherapy, 1999] - 35 citations

Discovery and studies of Ralstonia solanacearum fucophilic lectin RSL [J. Biochem. 2002; J. Biol. Chem. 2005] - 42 citations

Collaborated study (with A. Imberty et al., Grenoble) of the 3-D crystal structure of PA-IIL [Nature Struct. Biol. 2002] – 91 citations and its strong interacions [Proteins 2005] - 31 citations

Collaborated study (with A. Imberty et al., Grenoble) of the 3-D crystal structure of PA-IL [FEBS lett. 2003]  - 41 citations

The later 2 works led to unveiling of the molecular basis of host-glycan recognition by P. aeruginosa lectins [Microb. Infect., 2004] - 54 citations

Discovery and studies (collaborative) of the aggressive plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum mannophilic lectin RS-IIL and its 3D structure interactions [Mol. Microbiol. 2004] - 21 citations

Discovery and studies (collaborative) of the opportunistic pathogen Chromobacterium violaceum fucophilic lectin CV-IIL and its 3D structure interactions [Microbiology-SGM, 2006; Biochemistry 2006] - 16 citations

Studies of the 5 pathogenic bacterial lectins (PA-IL, PA-IIL, RSL, RS-IIL and CV-IIL) blocking by diverse milks, human body fluids, avian egg whites, honey and royal jelly, plant seeds and fruits, providing protection to sensitive embryos, neonates and organs against infections

Applications of these lectins, tagged by peroxidase, for detecting interacting glycoproteins that exist in these substances by staining their Western blots [FEMS Immunol. Med. Microbiol. 2001; Can. J. Microbiol. 2001; Electrophoresis 2003; ISME J. 2007. J. ApiProd. ApiMed. Sci. 2009).

The total number of citations documented in ISI WOS of Knowledge search of Gilboa-Garber's (recent) and Gilboagarber's (earlier) publications exceeds 1600