Xylomannan is an antifreeze molecule, found in the freeze-tolerant Alaskan beetle Upis ceramboides. Unlike antifreeze proteins, xylomannan is not a protein. Instead, it is a combination of a sugar (saccharide) and a fatty acid that is found in cell membranes. As such is expected to work in a different manner than AFPs. It is believed to work by incorporating itself directly into the cell membrane and preventing the freezing of water molecules within the cell.
Xylomannan is also found in the red seaweed Nothogenia fastigiata (Scinaiaceae family). Fraction F6 of a sulphated xylomannan from Nothogenia fastigiata was found to inhibit replication of a variety of viruses, including Herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 (HSV-1, HSV-2), Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV, HHV-5), Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), Influenzavirus A, Influenzavirus B, Junin and Tacaribe virus, Simian immunodeficiency virus, and (weakly) Human immunodeficiency virus types 1 and 2.
References
- Walters KR Jr; Serianni AS; Sformo T; Barnes BM; Duman JG (2009). "A nonprotein thermal hysteresis-producing xylomannan antifreeze in the freeze-tolerant Alaskan beetle Upis ceramboides". PNAS. 106 (48): 20210–5. Bibcode:2009PNAS..10620210W. doi:10.1073/pnas.0909872106. PMC 2787118. PMID 19934038.
- Ishiwata A, Sakurai A, Nishimiya Y, Tsuda S, Ito Y (Dec 7, 2011). "Synthetic study and structural analysis of the antifreeze agent xylomannan from Upis ceramboides". J Am Chem Soc. 133 (48): 19524–35. doi:10.1021/ja208528c. PMID 22029271.
- "New Antifreeze Molecule Isolated In Alaska Beetle - Science News - redOrbit".
- Damonte E, Neyts J, Pujol CA, et al. (June 1994). "Antiviral activity of a sulphated polysaccharide from the red seaweed Nothogenia fastigiata". Biochemical Pharmacology. 47 (12): 2187–92. doi:10.1016/0006-2952(94)90254-2. PMID 8031312.