Recent crystallographic and mutagenesis studies suggest that the structural determinants of saccharide binding are similar to those originally described for mannose-binding lectin [19,20,21 • ,22 • ]. At least two bound calcium ions and two intrachain disulfide crosslinks stabilize the required tertiary structure, and Glu321 and Asn323 within the CRD participate in glucose/mannose type recognition. Interactions with at least one glycolipid ligand, phosphatidylinositol (PI), require the participation of the C-terminal end of the protein [23, 24] .