Haemagglutinins from marine sponges

Summary. Two species of marine sponge, Cliona celata and Axinella sp. produce haemagglutinins and a third species, Tethya aurantium produces a haemolysin. A crude Axinella sp. preparation agglutinates goose erythrocytes at 0.5 μg/ml. The two haemagglutinins differ from each other in their relative activities against erythrocytes from a range of vertebrate species but show no specificity of action within the Landsteiner ABO system. The substances do not diffuse through dialysis membranes; they possess unusually high electrophoretic mobilities. The inactivation of Cliona celata haemagglutinin at low pH and at elevated temperatures suggests that it may be a protein.