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.
Loukas
Alex
A
Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Qld 4006, Australia. mtmacl@gwumc.edu
Brown
Alan P
AP
Pritchard
David I
DI
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