Sites of expression of mRNA for lysenin, a protein isolated from the coelomic fluid of the earthworm Eisenia foetida

Lysenin is a 33-kDa protein of 297 amino acids that was originally purified from the coelomic fluid of the earthworm Eisenia foetida. It binds specifically to sphingomyelin. In this study, we attempted to identify the site of synthesis of lysenin in the earthworm. We detected the expression of mRNA for lysenin and the presence of immunoreactive lysenin in the large coelomocytes and in the free large chloragocytes present in the lumen of the typhlosole, a depression in the dorsal wall of the intestine. These coelomocytes and chloragocytes seemed to be mature and separate from the chloragogen tissue that lined the typhlosole. The free large chloragocytes in the typhlosole contained numerous vacuoles. The nuclei were small and irregular in shape, and glycogen granules and mitochondria were occasionally found between vacuoles. The chloragocytes of the chloragogen tissue that surrounded the coelomic side of the intestine and the dorsal blood vessel did not react with the lysenin antiserum and no expression of lysenin mRNA was detected in these cells. Furthermore, no evidence of the protein or of the mRNA was found in the cells of the pharyngeal gland. Our findings suggest that lysenin is produced in the free large chloragocytes in the lumen of the typhlosole.