Litomosoides carinii: macrofilariae‐derived glycolipids—chromatography, serology and potential in the evaluation of anthelminthic efficacy

Abstract

A preliminary characterization of the glycolipids of Litomosoides carinii macrofilariae, resolved according to their chromatographic, chemical and serological properties, has been performed. Emphasis has been placed on the neutral fraction glycolipids. These are separable on thinlayer chromatography into two groups of fast and slow migrating band components, that differ in their migration, differential chemical staining and serological traits, respectively. Serological analyses have been accomplished by thin-layer chromatography immunostaining and ELISA. Only components of the slow migrating band group react with infection serum from Litomosoides carinii-infected Mastomys coucha. Cross-reactivity experiments with homologous and heterologous infection sera of various helminthiases indicate that, epitopes bound to the neutral glycolipid fraction show structural similarity within the Nematoda, but not to the Cestoda or Trematoda. The dynamic development of specific Ig-, IgG- and IgM-anti-neutral glycolipid fraction antibody levels were correlated with the different progression of L. carinii and Brugia malayi infections in the multimammate rat, Mastomys coucha. The reduction in the dynamics of IgG- and IgM-antibody levels on chemotherapeutic treatment with the filaricides flubendazole and CGP 20376 has been related to their macrofilaricide-activity.

Structural Elucidation and Monokine-inducing Activity of Two Biologically Active Zwitterionic Glycosphingolipids Derived from the Porcine Parasitic Nematode Ascaris suum

“…Glycosphingolipids were visualized using I 2 vapor and/or by spraying the plates with orcinol/sulfuric acid (carbohydrate-positive compounds) or ninhydrin (free amino groups) and heating. For immunostaining, the developed HPTLC plates were fixed with polyisobutylmethylacrylate (Röhm & Haas, Darmstadt, Germany), blocked with phosphate-buffered saline and bovine serum albumin, and incubated with the phosphocholine-specific monoclonal antibody TEPC-15 (Sigma) overnight at 4°C, as described elsewhere (1). Peroxidase-coupled anti-mouse Ig (Dako Diagnostics, Hamburg, Germany) was used as the secondary antibody.…”

“…: ϩ49-641-99-47400; Fax: ϩ49-641-99-47409; E-mail: Rudolf.Geyer@biochemie.med.uni-giessen.de. 1 The abbreviations used are: PC, phosphocholine; PE, phosphoethanolamine; CPH, ceramide pentahexoside; HPTLC, high-performance thin-layer chromatography; IL, interleukin; LPS, lipopolysaccharide; LSIMS, liquid secondary-ion mass spectrometry; MALDI-TOF-MS, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry; N-glycolipid, neutral glycolipid; Nz-glycolipid, zwitterionic glycolipid; PBMC, peripheral blood mononuclear cells; TNF, tumor necrosis factor; HPLC, high performance liquid chromatography; GLC, gasliquid chromatography; Hex, hexose; HexNAc, N-acetylhexosamine. …”

Phosphocholine-containing, zwitterionic glycosphingolipids of adult Onchocerca volvulus as highly conserved antigenic structures of parasitic nematodes

“…The antigenic determinant phosphocholine (PC) has been found to be the structural basis for the immunological cross-reactivity of zwitterionic glycolipids from various parasitic nematodes [1][2][3]. Zwitterionic glycolipids of Litomosoides sigmodontis (l carinii) and Ascaris suum reacted with homologous and heterologous infection sera derived from animals experimentally infected with A. suum, L. sigmodontis and Nippostrongylus brasiliensis [2,3]. In addition, zwitterionic glycolipids from L. sigmodontis, which is a rodent laboratory model for filariases, were recognized by sera from humans infected with Onchocerca ol ulus, Brugia malayi, Loa loa, and Strongyloides stercoralis [3].…”

“…Zwitterionic glycolipids of Litomosoides sigmodontis (l carinii) and Ascaris suum reacted with homologous and heterologous infection sera derived from animals experimentally infected with A. suum, L. sigmodontis and Nippostrongylus brasiliensis [2,3]. In addition, zwitterionic glycolipids from L. sigmodontis, which is a rodent laboratory model for filariases, were recognized by sera from humans infected with Onchocerca ol ulus, Brugia malayi, Loa loa, and Strongyloides stercoralis [3]. Detailed structural analysis of the zwitterionic glycolipid antigens of parasitic nematodes has been performed for two components bearing the PC substituent, which were derived from the porcine parasite A. suum, that yielded the structures Gal(α1- .…”

Increased antibody response to parasite lipids in amicrofilaraemic individuals from a region where Wuchereria bancrofti infection is endemic

“…Carbohydrate determinants have also been assumed to be the targets of the protective immune responses observed in mice exposed to schistosome cercariae (Omar-Ali et al, 1986). Glycolipids from Litmosoides carinii micro® lariae (mff) have recently been chem ically characterized and their serological properties have been assessed in Mastomys coucha infected with L. carinii or B. malayi (Baumeister et al, 1994); macro® laricide (but not micro® laricide) therapy provoked a signi® cant reduction in IgG and IgM levels in the Mastomys.…”