title: Identification of surface coat carbohydrates in Blastocystis hominis by lectin probes.
abstract: The carbohydrate residues of the surface coat of 20 axenic cultures of Blastocystis hominis were studied using FITC-labelled lectins (ConA, WGA, DBA, HPA, SBA, PNA, UEAI and LPA). The specific affinity of reactive lectins was determinated by competitive inhibition assay with specific carbohydrates or by enzymatic pre-treatment of cells. All stocks strongly bound ConA and HPA; WGA, UEAI and LPA were partially reactive, and the remaining lectins were nonreactive. Inhibition assays showed abolition (WGA, LPA, UEAI and HPA) or partial reduction (ConA) of lectin affinity, which demonstrated the specificity of binding assay. These results indicate that B. hominis has surface components containing alpha-D-mannose, alpha-D-glucose, N-acetyl-alpha-D-glucosamine, alpha-L-fucose, chitin and sialic acid.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Medicina y Hospital Clínico Universitario, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Lanuza
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Carbajal
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Borrás
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D001667:Binding, Competitive; D016776:Blastocystis Infections / Q000209:etiology; D016845:Blastocystis hominis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000032:analysis*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry; D016650:Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D037102:Lectins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates; D037102:Lectins; D009844:Oligosaccharides; D016650:Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate