Abstract
Promastigote and amastigote forms of human pathogenicLeishmania from the Old and New World, including promastigotes ofL. enriettii, were tested with neoglycoproteins to ascertain the existence of endogenous lectins. These tools expose the chemically coupled sugar that is attached to the inert carrier as a potential ligand for the binding reaction. Agglutination tests demonstrated that the promastigotes of humanLeishmania reacted only with the neoglycoproteinsN-acetyl-d-galactosamine-para-aminophenyl-bovine serum albumin (galNAc-BSA) andN-acetyl-d-glucosamine-para-aminophenyl-bovine serum albumin (glcNAc-BSA), whereas the amastigote forms failed to react with the neoglycoproteins. In contrast, the promastigotes ofL. enriettii were agglutinated by the neoglycoproteind-mannose-bovine serum albumin (man-BSA). The agglutination reactions could be inhibited by the homologous sugarsN-acetyl-beta-d-glucosamine,N-acetyl-beta-d-galactosamine, and alpha-d-mannose. Fluorescence tests yielded the same results. The incubation of the promastigotes with ethylenedinitrolotetraacetic acid (EDTA) prevented their reaction with the neoglycoproteins, whereas the addition of calcium restored it. This result demonstrates thatLeishmania express calcium-dependent lectins that are accessible on their surface.
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Schottelius, J. Neoglycoproteins as tools for the detection of carbohydrate-specific receptors on the cell surface ofLeishmania . Parasitol Res 78, 309–315 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00937089
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00937089