Trypanosoma cruzi glycoprotein of Mr 56000: characterization and assessment of its potential to protect against fatal parasite infections |
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| Authors: | Günter Harth Alea A Mills Teri Lin Fausto G Araujo |
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| Institution: | Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90024-1680, USA.;Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California 92717, USA.;Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Research Institute, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Palo Alto, California 94301, USA. |
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| Abstract: | A ～ 56 000 Da membrane glycoprotein purified from epimastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi was characterized biochemically and tested for its efficacy to induce protection in mice from a lethal challenge with this protozoan parasite. Immunofluorescence assays with live and formalin-fixed epimastigotes and trypomastigotes localized the glycoprotein to the flagellum, the body of the parasite, and the cell membrane. Immunoblotting demonstrated the glyco-protein's presence in nearly equal amounts in all developmental stages of several T. cruzi isolates. Mice immunized with the purified glycoprotein and challenged with 10000 infectious trypomastigote forms of isolate Y survived the controls by up to four days. This significant protection makes this antigen a potential candidate for a multi-subunit vaccine against 7. cruzi. |
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