Use of Sequence-Specific Antisense Oligodeoxynucleotides to Determine the Protozoan Parasite Antigen Recognized by Nonspecific Cytotoxic Cells |
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Authors: | Liliana Jaso-Friedmann Donald L Evans |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30606, USA , US |
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Abstract: | The antigen on the protozoan parasite Tetrahymena pyriformis recognized by catfish nonspecific cytotoxic cells (NCC) is a 46- to 48-kDa protein referred to as NKTag. The complete cDNA-derived
amino acid sequence of NKTag has been obtained. The antigenic determinant of NKTag corresponding to the NCC binding site has
been determined with synthetic peptides in target cell competition experiments. To more directly characterize the mechanism
of parasite:effector cell interaction, we applied NKTag sequence-specific antisense oligodeoxynucleotides to Tetrahymena in vitro. NKTag mRNA translation by Tetrahymena was blocked by specific antisense (AS) oligodeoxynucleotides. 5′-3′ sense (S) oligodeoxynucleotide sequences were synthesized
corresponding to the first 17 N-terminal amino acids of NKTag (in addition to −2 untranslated codons plus the start codon).
Complimentary AS oligodeoxynucleotides were likewise synthesized. To determine the optimum in vitro conditions for AS treatment,
we tested parasites at various phases of their growth cycle for the effects of a single AS treatment. At 9 h post-AS treatment
(during the linear phase of the growth curve), maximum reduction in membrane expression of NKTag was observed. Eighty-five
percent of Tetrahymena were positive for expression of NKTag at 0 time post-AS treatment versus 13% positive at 9 h. Membrane expression of AS-treated
parasites returned to normal levels by 24 h post-treatment. In cold target inhibition experiments, the reduced NKTag expression
by Tetrahymena at 9 h AS treatment was confirmed by observing a complete inability (compared with S-treated parasites) to compete with IM-9
cells for binding with NCC. These data demonstrated a unique experimental in vitro system to define the antigen determinant
on target cells responsible for recognition by cytotoxic effector cells that participate in innate immune responses.
Received: 14 June 1999 / Accepted: 4 September 1999 |
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