Surface expression patterns of defined glycan antigens change during Schistosoma mansoni cercarial transformation and development of schistosomula

During the complex lifecycle of Schistosoma mansoni, a large variety of glycans is expressed. To many of these glycans, antibodies are induced by the infected host and some might be targets for vaccines or diagnostic tests. Spatial changes in glycan expression during schistosome development are largely unexplored. To study the surface-exposed glycans during the important initial stages of infection, we analyzed the binding of a panel of anti-glycan monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to cercariae and schistosomula up to 72 h after transformation by immunofluorescence microscopy. The mAb specificity toward their natural targets was studied using a microarray containing a wide range of schistosomal N-glycans, O-glycans and glycosphingolipid glycans. With the exception of GalNAcβ1-4(Fucα1-3)GlcNAc (LDN-F), mono- and multifucosylated GalNAcβ1-4GlcNAc (LDN)-motifs were exposed at the surface of all developmental stages studied. Multifucosylated LDN-motifs were present on cercarial glycocalyx-derived O-glycans as well as cercarial glycolipids. In contrast, the Galβ1-4(Fucα1-3)GlcNAc (Lewis X) and LDN-F-motifs, also expressed on cercarial glycolipids, and in addition on a range of cercarial N- and O-glycans, became surface expressed only after transformation of cercariae to schistosomula. In line with the documented shedding of the O-glycan-rich cercarial glycocalyx after transformation these observations suggest that surface accessible multifucosylated LDN-motif...

Source: Glycobiology - November 5, 2015 Category: Biology Authors: Smit, C. H., Homann, A., van Hensbergen, V. P., Schramm, G., Haas, H., van Diepen, A., Hokke, C. H. Tags: Microbial Biology Source Type: research