We isolated a novel lectin (AHL) from Artocarpus hypargyreus Hance and showed its immunomodulatory activities.In this study,the amino acid sequence of AHL was determined by cDNA sequencing.AHL cDNA (875bp) contains a 456-bp open reading frame (ORF),which encodes a protein with 151 amino acids.AHL is a new member ofjacalin-related lectin family (JRLs),which share high sequence similarities to KM+ and Morniga M,and contain the conserved carbohydrate binding domains.The antitumor activity of AHL was also explored using Jurkat T cell lines.AHL exhibits a strong binding affinity to cell membrane,which can be effectively inhibited by methyl-α-D-galactose.AHL inhibits cell proliferation in a time-and dose-dependent manner through apoptosis,evidenced by morphological changes,phosphatidylserine externalization,poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) cleavage,Bad and Bax up-regulation,and caspase-3 activation.We further showed that the activation of ERK and p38 signaling pathways is involved for the pro-apoptotic effect of AHL.