title: Immunodominant antigens in Naegleria fowleri excretory--secretory proteins were potential pathogenic factors.
abstract: Naegleria fowleri, a ubiquitous pathogenic free-living amoeba, is the most virulent species and causes primary amoebic meningoencephalitis in laboratory animals and humans. The parasite secretes various inducing molecules as biological responses, which are thought to be involved in pathophysiological and immunological events during infection. To investigate what molecules of N. fowleri excretory-secretory proteins (ESPs) are related with amoebic pathogenicity, N. fowleri ESPs fractionated by two-dimensional electrophoresis were reacted with N. fowleri infection or immune sera. To identify immunodominant ESPs, six major protein spots were selected and analyzed by N-terminal sequencing. Finally, six proteins, 58, 40, 24, 21, 18, and 16 kDa of molecular weight, were partially cloned and matched with reference proteins as follow: 58 kDa of exendin-3 precursor, 40 kDa of secretory lipase, 24 kDa of cathepsin B-like proteases and cysteine protease, 21 kDa of cathepsin B, 18 kDa of peroxiredoxin, and 16 kDa of thrombin receptor, respectively. These results suggest that N. fowleri ESPs contained important proteins, which may play an important role in the pathogenicity of N. fowleri.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Department of Molecular Science & Technology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, 443-721, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jong-Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ae-Hee
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Hae-Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Sohn
authors.forename: Daesik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Kyoung-Ju
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Ho-Joon
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Shin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D015180:Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional; D005260:Female; D015151:Immunoblotting; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008970:Molecular Weight; D016848:Naegleria fowleri / Q000276:immunology*; D020543:Proteome / Q000032:analysis; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes; D020543:Proteome; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors