Na-ctl-2, a cDNA encoding a C-type lectin expressed exclusively in adult Necator americanus hookworms.
C-type lectins (C-TLs) are carbohydrate-binding proteins central to diverse physiological processes including immunity, venom-induced haemostasis and wound repair. Here we describe the cloning of Na-ctl-2, a cDNA encoding a secreted C-TL from the human hookworm Necator americanus. The transcript was detected in mRNA from adult worms but not infective larvae. The cDNA encoded an N-terminal secretory signal peptide followed by a long-form C-TL domain with sequence similarity to C-TL-like proteins from Caenorhabditis elegans and mammalian antigen presenting cell receptors, suggesting that hookworms might utilise this class of lectin to interrupt anti-parasite immune responses or interfere with host clotting mechanisms. This is the first report of a full-length cDNA encoding a lectin from hookworms. The unusually skewed representation of this protein family within different nematode genera and its subsequent impact on the evolution of nematode parasitism is discussed.
Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Qld 4006, Australia. mtmacl@gwumc.edu
Alex
A
Loukas
Alan P
AP
Brown
David I
DI
Pritchard
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D037181:Lectins, C-Type / Q000235:genetics*; D008024:Ligands; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017221:Necator americanus / Q000235:genetics*; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D016415:Sequence Alignment
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D037181:Lectins, C-Type; D008024:Ligands