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Answer» What is haemagglutinin mean? In molecular biology, hemagglutinin (or haemagglutinin in British English) (from the Greek haima, 'blood' + Latin gluten, 'glue') is a glycoprotein which causes red blood cells (RBCs) to agglutinate or clump together. This is one of three steps in the more complex process of coagulation. Agglutination mostly happens when adding influenza virus to red blood cells, as virologist George K. Hirst discovered in 1941. It can also occur with measles virus, parainfluenza virus and mumps virus, among others. Alfred Gottschalk proved in 1957 that hemagglutinin binds a virus to a host cell by attaching to sialic acids on carbohydrate side chains of cell-membrane glycoproteins and glycolipids. There are different types of hemagglutinin but, in general, two groups can be described, depending on how they act in different temperatures: Cold hemagglutinin: which can act in an optimal manner at temperatures reaching 4°C.Warm hemagglutinin: which can act in an optimal manner at temperatures reaching 37°C.Antibodies and lectins are commonly known hemagglutinins. reference
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