Biomaterial Database

Interaction of lectins with Cryptosporidium parvum. 1993

J Llovo, and A Lopez, and J Fabregas, and A Muñoz

Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Cell surface carbohydrates from four clinical isolates of Cryptosporidium parvum were analyzed by agglutination assays using a battery of 20 highly purified lectins with affinity for receptor molecules containing N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc), N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, galactose, mannose, glucose, fucose, and N-acetyl-neuraminic acid. Tomentine, a lectin from the green seaweed Codium tomentosum, and UEA-II lectin, from Ulex europeus, both of them GlcNAc-specific lectins, agglutinated the oocysts. Subsequent inhibition assay confirmed the presence of this sugar on the surface of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts. Codium fragile lectin, from another green seaweed, also exhibited agglutination activity against the oocysts. This is the first published demonstration of such an interaction between a human coccidian and lectins from seaweeds.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008969	Molecular Sequence Data	Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.	Sequence Data, Molecular,Molecular Sequencing Data,Data, Molecular Sequence,Data, Molecular Sequencing,Sequencing Data, Molecular
D002240	Carbohydrate Sequence	The sequence of carbohydrates within POLYSACCHARIDES; GLYCOPROTEINS; and GLYCOLIPIDS.	Carbohydrate Sequences,Sequence, Carbohydrate,Sequences, Carbohydrate
D003457	Cryptosporidiosis	Intestinal infection with organisms of the genus CRYPTOSPORIDIUM. It occurs in both animals and humans. Symptoms include severe DIARRHEA.	Cryptosporidium Infection,Cryptosporidioses,Cryptosporidium Infections,Infection, Cryptosporidium
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D016785	Cryptosporidium parvum	A species of parasitic protozoa that infects humans and most domestic mammals. Its oocysts measure five microns in diameter. These organisms exhibit alternating cycles of sexual and asexual reproduction.	Cryptosporidium parvums,parvum, Cryptosporidium
D037102	Lectins	Proteins that share the common characteristic of binding to carbohydrates. Some ANTIBODIES and carbohydrate-metabolizing proteins (ENZYMES) also bind to carbohydrates, however they are not considered lectins. PLANT LECTINS are carbohydrate-binding proteins that have been primarily identified by their hemagglutinating activity (HEMAGGLUTININS). However, a variety of lectins occur in animal species where they serve diverse array of functions through specific carbohydrate recognition.	Animal Lectin,Animal Lectins,Isolectins,Lectin,Isolectin,Lectin, Animal,Lectins, Animal