Mistletoe lectin I is a sialic acid-specific lectin with strict preference to gangliosides and glycoproteins with terminal Neu5Ac alpha 2-6Gal beta 1-4GlcNAc residues

Neolacto series gangliosides and complex-type N-glycans with Neu5Ac alpha2-6Gal beta1-4GlcNAc epitopes might be responsible for the immunomodulatory potency and/or tumor cell targeting of Mistletoe lectin (ML-I). Studies on animals and humans proved that ML-I causes significant increase and activation of natural killer cells and enhances phagocytotic activity of granulocytes and monocytes.