Sialic acid-dependent attachment of mucins from three mouse strains to Entamoeba histolytica

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2013.05.085Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Mouse strain-dependent susceptibilities to Entamoeba histolytica have been observed.

  • O-glycans of colorectum mucins from three mouse strains were studied.

  • Sialic acid content of mucin O-glycans was mouse strain-dependent.

  • Sialic acids inhibited the attachment of E. histolytica to the mucins.

Abstract

Mouse strain-specific differences in the carbohydrate composition of intestinal mucins were hypothesized to account for strain-dependent susceptibility to Entamoeba histolytica. To test this hypothesis, intestinal mucins from susceptible and resistant inbred strains of mice were analyzed for their O-glycan content and for their ability to inhibit amoebic adherence to (GalNAc)12–27-HSA neo-glycoproteins. The results showed that the colorectal mucin O-glycan of susceptible CBA mice was lower in sialic acid content than that of resistant C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice. Mucins from CBA mice were more potent inhibitors of E. histolytica adherence to neo-glycoproteins than were mucins from C57BL/6 or BALB/c mice. Consistent with the role of terminal Gal/GalNAc as a receptor for amoebic adherence, sialidase treatment of C57BL/6 and BALB/c colorectal mucins increased their ability to inhibit E. histolytica adherence to the neo-glycoproteins. These results provide evidence of mouse strain-specific differences in the sialic acids content of mucin O-glycans. These dissimilarities likely contribute to the differential susceptibility of the three mouse strains to E. histolytica infection.

Abbreviations

ABC
ammonium bicarbonate
aoWR
Nα-((aminooxy)acetyl)tryptophanylarginine methyl ester
DHB
2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid
MTT
3-methyl-1-p-tolyltriazene
PAS
periodic acid-schiff

Keywords

Mucin
Entamoeba histolytica
O-glycan
Sialic acid
Lectin

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