Successful infection of mammalian host by trypomastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi is a complex event, involving host receptors and parasite ligands. Interaction of the trypomastigote stage with laminin, a component of specialized extracellular matrices, as basement membranes, is studied in this report. Binding of 125I-laminin to trypomastigotes is specific and 2-5 x 10(3) laminin binding sites were calculated to be present on the surface of live trypomastigotes. Anti-laminin antibodies were able to inhibit the invasion of cultured cells by trypomastigotes (75-62%), suggesting that laminin may be involved in the adhesion of the parasite to host cells. By affinity chromatography, an 85-kDa glycoprotein was isolated (laminin binding glycoprotein, LBG) from trypomastigote lysates, but not from epimastigote lysates. It is suggested that at least fragment E8 (but not E1') from laminin could be involved in the reaction which is independent of the carbohydrate moieties from both ligand and receptor, as suggested by glycosidase or tunicamycin treatments. It is also shown that LBG is an acidic component of the polymorphic Tc-85 protein family, a trypomastigote-specific surface membrane glycoprotein which contains several polypeptides recognized by the monoclonal antibody H1A10, and previously related with the invasion process of the parasite.