title: The baculovirus-expressed binding region of Plasmodium falciparum EBA-140 ligand and its glycophorin C binding specificity.
abstract: The erythrocyte binding ligand 140 (EBA-140) is a member of the Plasmodium falciparum DBL family of erythrocyte binding proteins, which are considered as prospective candidates for malaria vaccine development. The EBA-140 ligand is a paralogue of the well-characterized P. falciparum EBA-175 protein. They share homology of domain structure, including Region II, which consists of two homologous F1 and F2 domains and is responsible for ligand-erythrocyte receptor interaction during invasion. In this report we describe, for the first time, the glycophorin C specificity of the recombinant, baculovirus-expressed binding region (Region II) of P. falciparum EBA-140 ligand. It was found that the recombinant EBA-140 Region II binds to the endogenous and recombinant glycophorin C, but does not bind to Gerbich-type glycophorin C, neither normal nor recombinant, which lacks amino acid residues 36-63 of its polypeptide chain. Our results emphasize the crucial role of this glycophorin C region in EBA-140 ligand binding. Moreover, the EBA-140 Region II did not bind either to glycophorin D, the truncated form of glycophorin C lacking the N-glycan or to desialylated GPC. These results draw attention to the role of glycophorin C glycans in EBA-140 binding. The full identification of the EBA-140 binding site on glycophorin C molecule, consisting most likely of its glycans and peptide backbone, may help to design therapeutics or vaccines that target the erythrocyte binding merozoite ligands.
authors.affiliation: Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rydzak
authors.affiliation: Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Radoslaw
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kaczmarek
authors.affiliation: Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland; Faculty of Physiotherapy and Physical Education, Opole University of Technology, Opole, Poland.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Czerwinski
authors.affiliation: Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Jolanta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lukasiewicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Recombinant Vaccines, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdansk and Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland.
authors.forename: Jolanta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tyborowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Recombinant Vaccines, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdansk and Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland.
authors.forename: Boguslaw
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Szewczyk
authors.affiliation: Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland; Department of Molecular Biology, University of Zielona Góra, Zielona Góra, Poland.
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jaskiewicz
mesh_terms: D016367:Baculoviridae / Q000276:immunology*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D006021:Glycophorins / Q000378:metabolism*; D017780:Malaria Vaccines / Q000276:immunology; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum; D011485:Protein Binding; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; C438380:EBA140 protein, Plasmodium falciparum; D006021:Glycophorins; D017780:Malaria Vaccines; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D015800:Protozoan Proteins