N-Glycosylation patterns of hemolymph glycoproteins from Biomphalaria glabrata strains expressing different susceptibility to Schistosoma mansoni infection

Immuno-molecular profile for Biomphalaria glabrata/Schistosoma mansoni interaction

The complex innate immune defense of Biomphalaria glabrata, the intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni, governs the successful development of the intramolluscan stages of the parasite. The interaction between the snail and the parasite involves a complex immune molecular crosstalk between several parasite antigens and the snail immune recognition receptors, evoking different signals and effector molecules. This work seeks to discuss the immune-related molecules that influence compatibility in Biomphalaria glabrata/Schistosoma mansoni interaction and the differential expression of these molecules between resistant and susceptible snails. It also includes the current understanding of the immune molecular determinants that govern the compatibility in sympatric and allopatric interactions, and the expression of these molecules after immune priming and the secondary immune response. Herein, the differences in the immune-related molecules in the interaction of other Biomphalaria species with Schistosoma mansoni compared to the Biomphalaria glabrata model snail are highlighted. Understanding the diverse immune molecular determinants in the snail/schistosome interaction can lead to alternative control strategies for schistosomiasis.

Mollusc N-glycosylation: Structures, Functions and Perspectives

Molluscs display a sophisticated N-glycan pattern on their proteins, which is, in terms of involved structural features, even more diverse than that of vertebrates. This review summarises the current knowledge of mollusc N-glycan structures, with a focus on the functional aspects of the corresponding glycoproteins. Furthermore, the potential of mollusc-derived biomolecules for medical applications is addressed, emphasising the importance of mollusc research.

Immune Evasion Strategies of Schistosomes

Human schistosomes combat the unique immune systems of two vastly different hosts during their indirect life cycles. In gastropod molluscs, they face a potent innate immune response composed of variable immune recognition molecules and highly phagocytic hemocytes. In humans, a wide variety of innate and adaptive immune processes exist in proximity to these parasites throughout their lifespan. To survive and thrive as the second most common parasitic disease in humans, schistosomes have evolved many techniques to avoid and combat these targeted host responses. Among these techniques are molecular mimicry of host antigens, the utilization of an immune resistant outer tegument, the secretion of several potent proteases, and targeted release of specific immunomodulatory factors affecting immune cell functions. This review seeks to describe these key immune evasion mechanisms, among others, which schistosomes use to survive in both of their hosts. After diving into foundational observational studies of the processes mediating the establishment of schistosome infections, more recent transcriptomic and proteomic studies revealing crucial components of the host/parasite molecular interface are discussed. In order to combat this debilitating and lethal disease, a comprehensive understanding of schistosome immune evasion strategies is necessary for the development of novel therapeutics and treatment plans, necessitating the discussion of the numerous ways in which these parasitic flatworms overcome the immune responses of both hosts.

Human protein paucimannosylation: cues from the eukaryotic kingdoms

Paucimannosidic proteins (PMPs) are bioactive glycoproteins carrying truncated α- or β-mannosyl-terminating asparagine (N)-linked glycans widely reported across the eukaryotic domain. Our understanding of human PMPs remains limited, despite findings documenting their existence and association with human disease glycobiology. This review comprehensively surveys the structures, biosynthetic routes and functions of PMPs across the eukaryotic kingdoms with the aim of synthesising an improved understanding on the role of protein paucimannosylation in human health and diseases. Convincing biochemical, glycoanalytical and biological data detail a vast structural heterogeneity and fascinating tissue- and subcellular-specific expression of PMPs within invertebrates and plants, often comprising multi-α1,3/6-fucosylation and β1,2-xylosylation amongst other glycan modifications and non-glycan substitutions e.g. O-methylation. Vertebrates and protists express less-heterogeneous PMPs typically only comprising variable core fucosylation of bi- and trimannosylchitobiose core glycans. In particular, the Manα1,6Manβ1,4GlcNAc(α1,6Fuc)β1,4GlcNAcβAsn glycan (M2F) decorates various human neutrophil proteins reportedly displaying bioactivity and structural integrity demonstrating that they are not degradation products. Less-truncated paucimannosidic glycans (e.g. M3F) are characteristic glycosylation features of proteins expressed by human cancer and stem cells. Concertedly, these observations suggest the involvement of human PMPs in processes related to innate immunity, tumorigenesis and cellular differentiation. The absence of human PMPs in diverse bodily fluids studied under many (patho)physiological conditions suggests extravascular residence and points to localised functions of PMPs in peripheral tissues. Absence of PMPs in Fungi indicates that paucimannosylation is common, but not universally conserved, in eukaryotes. Relative to human PMPs, the expression of PMPs in plants, invertebrates and protists is more tissue-wide and constitutive yet, similar to their human counterparts, PMP expression remains regulated by the physiology of the producing organism and PMPs evidently serve essential functions in development, cell-cell communication and host-pathogen/symbiont interactions. In most PMP-producing organisms, including humans, the N-acetyl-β-hexosaminidase isoenzymes and linkage-specific α-mannosidases are glycoside hydrolases critical for generating PMPs via N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I (GnT-I)-dependent and GnT-I-independent truncation pathways. However, the identity and structure of many species-specific PMPs in eukaryotes, their biosynthetic routes, strong tissue- and development-specific expression, and diverse functions are still elusive. Deep exploration of these PMP features involving, for example, the characterisation of endogenous PMP-recognising lectins across a variety of healthy and N-acetyl-β-hexosaminidase-deficient human tissue types and identification of microbial adhesins reactive to human PMPs, are amongst the many tasks required for enhanced insight into the glycobiology of human PMPs. In conclusion, the literature supports the notion that PMPs are significant, yet still heavily under-studied biomolecules in human glycobiology that serve essential functions and create structural heterogeneity not dissimilar to other human N-glycoprotein types. Human PMPs should therefore be recognised as bioactive glycoproteins that are distinctly different from the canonical N-glycoprotein classes and which warrant a more dedicated focus in glycobiological research.

Glycans in the roles of parasitological diagnosis and host-parasite interplay

The investigation of the glycan repertoire of several organisms has revealed a wide variation in terms of structures and abundance of glycan moieties. Among the parasites, it is possible to observe different sets of glycoconjugates across taxa and developmental stages within a species. The presence of distinct glycoconjugates throughout the life cycle of a parasite could relate to the ability of that organism to adapt and survive in different hosts and environments. Carbohydrates on the surface, and in excretory-secretory products of parasites, play essential roles in host-parasite interactions. Carbohydrate portions of complex molecules of parasites stimulate and modulate host immune responses, mainly through interactions with specific receptors on the surface of dendritic cells, leading to the generation of a pattern of response that may benefit parasite survival. Available data reviewed here also show the frequent aspect of parasite immunomodulation of mammalian responses through specific glycan interactions, which ultimately makes these molecules promising in the fields of diagnostics and vaccinology.

Comparisons of N-glycans across invertebrate phyla

Many invertebrates are either parasites themselves or vectors involved in parasite transmission; thereby, the interactions of parasites with final or intermediate hosts are often mediated by glycans. Therefore, it is of interest to compare the glycan structures or motifs present across invertebrate species. While a typical vertebrate modification such as sialic acid is rare in lower animals, antennal and core modifications of N-glycans are highly varied and range from core fucose, galactosylated fucose, fucosylated galactose, methyl groups, glucuronic acid and sulphate through to addition of zwitterionic moieties (phosphorylcholine, phosphoethanolamine and aminoethylphosphonate). Only in some cases are the enzymatic bases and the biological function of these modifications known. We are indeed still in the phase of discovering invertebrate glycomes primarily using mass spectrometry, but molecular biology and microarraying techniques are complementary to the determination of novel glycan structures and their functions.

Schistosome infectivity in the snail, Biomphalaria glabrata, is partially dependent on the expression of Grctm6, a Guadeloupe Resistance Complex protein

Schistosomiasis is one of the most important neglected tropical diseases. Despite effective chemotherapeutic treatments, this disease continues to afflict hundreds of millions of people. Understanding the natural intermediate snail hosts of schistosome parasites is vital to the suppression of this disease. A recently identified genomic region in Caribbean Biomphalaria glabrata snails strongly influences their resistance to infection by Schistosoma mansoni. This region contains novel genes having structural similarity to known pathogen recognition proteins. Here we elaborate on the probable structure and role of one of these genes, grctm6. We characterised the expression of Grctm6 in a population of Caribbean snails, and performed a siRNA knockdown of Grctm6. We show that this protein is not only expressed in B. glabrata hemolymph, but that it also has a role in modulating the number of S. mansoni cercariae released by infected snails, making it a possible target for the biological control of schistosomiasis.

Helminth glycomics - glycan repertoires and host-parasite interactions

Glycoproteins and glycolipids of parasitic helminths play important roles in biology and host-parasite interaction. This review discusses recent helminth glycomics studies that have been expanding our insights into the glycan repertoire of helminths. Structural data are integrated with biological and immunological observations to highlight how glycomics advances our understanding of the critical roles that glycans and glycan motifs play in helminth infection biology. Prospects and challenges in helminth glycomics and glycobiology are discussed.

Study of surface carbohydrates in Galba truncatula tissues before and after infection with Fasciola hepatica

The presence and distribution of surface carbohydrates in the tissues of Galba truncatula snails uninfected or after infection with Fasciola hepatica as well as on the surface of the snail-pathogenic larval stages of the parasite were studied by lectin labelling assay. This is an attempt to find similarities that indicate possible mimicry, utilised by the parasite as an evasion strategy in this snail-trematode system. Different binding patterns were identified on head-foot-mantle, hepatopancreas, genital glands, renopericardial complex of the host as well as of the snail-pathogenic larval stages of F. hepatica. The infection with F. hepatica leads to changes of labelling with Glycine max in the head-mantle cells and Arachis hypogaea in the tubular epithelium of the hepatopancreas. The lectin binding on the other snail tissues is not changed by the development of the larvae. Our data clearly demonstrated the similarity in labelling of G. truncatula tissues and the surface of the snail-pathogenic larval stages of F. hepatica. The role of glycosylation of the contact surfaces of both organisms in relation to the host-parasite interactions is also discussed.

Genome-Wide Scan and Test of Candidate Genes in the Snail Biomphalaria glabrata Reveal New Locus Influencing Resistance to Schistosoma mansoni

BACKGROUND

New strategies to combat the global scourge of schistosomiasis may be revealed by increased understanding of the mechanisms by which the obligate snail host can resist the schistosome parasite. However, few molecular markers linked to resistance have been identified and characterized in snails.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

Here we test six independent genetic loci for their influence on resistance to Schistosoma mansoni strain PR1 in the 13-16-R1 strain of the snail Biomphalaria glabrata. We first identify a genomic region, RADres, showing the highest differentiation between susceptible and resistant inbred lines among 1611 informative restriction-site associated DNA (RAD) markers, and show that it significantly influences resistance in an independent set of 439 outbred snails. The additive effect of each RADres resistance allele is 2-fold, similar to that of the previously identified resistance gene sod1. The data fit a model in which both loci contribute independently and additively to resistance, such that the odds of infection in homozygotes for the resistance alleles at both loci (13% infected) is 16-fold lower than the odds of infection in snails without any resistance alleles (70% infected). Genome-wide linkage disequilibrium is high, with both sod1 and RADres residing on haplotype blocks >2 Mb, and with other markers in each block also showing significant effects on resistance; thus the causal genes within these blocks remain to be demonstrated. Other candidate loci had no effect on resistance, including the Guadeloupe Resistance Complex and three genes (aif, infPhox, and prx1) with immunological roles and expression patterns tied to resistance, which must therefore be trans-regulated.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE

The loci RADres and sod1 both have strong effects on resistance to S. mansoni. Future approaches to control schistosomiasis may benefit from further efforts to characterize and harness this natural genetic variation.

Mucin-Type O-Glycosylation in Invertebrates

O-Glycosylation is one of the most important posttranslational modifications of proteins. It takes part in protein conformation, protein sorting, developmental processes and the modulation of enzymatic activities. In vertebrates, the basics of the biosynthetic pathway of O-glycans are already well understood. However, the regulation of the processes and the molecular aspects of defects, especially in correlation with cancer or developmental abnormalities, are still under investigation. The knowledge of the correlating invertebrate systems and evolutionary aspects of these highly conserved biosynthetic events may help improve the understanding of the regulatory factors of this pathway. Invertebrates display a broad spectrum of glycosylation varieties, providing an enormous potential for glycan modifications which may be used for the design of new pharmaceutically active substances. Here, overviews of the present knowledge of invertebrate mucin-type O-glycan structures and the currently identified enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis of these oligosaccharides are presented, and the few data dealing with functional aspects of O-glycans are summarised.

Analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry: an update for 2009-2010

This review is the sixth update of the original article published in 1999 on the application of MALDI mass spectrometry to the analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates and brings coverage of the literature to the end of 2010. General aspects such as theory of the MALDI process, matrices, derivatization, MALDI imaging, arrays and fragmentation are covered in the first part of the review and applications to various structural typed constitutes the remainder. The main groups of compound that are discussed in this section are oligo and polysaccharides, glycoproteins, glycolipids, glycosides and biopharmaceuticals. Many of these applications are presented in tabular form. Also discussed are medical and industrial applications of the technique, studies of enzyme reactions and applications to chemical synthesis.

Digenean-gastropod host associations inform on aspects of specific immunity in snails

Gastropod immunology is informed importantly by the study of the frequent encounters snails endure with digeneans (digenetic trematodes). One of the hallmarks of gastropod-digenean associations is their specificity: any particular digenean parasite species is transmitted by a limited subset of snail taxa. We discuss the nature of this specificity, including its immunological basis. We then review studies of the model gastropod Biomphalaria glabrata indicating that the baseline responses of snails to digeneans can be elevated in a specific manner. Studies incorporating molecular and functional approaches are then highlighted, and are further suggestive of the capacity for specific gastropod immune responses. These studies have led to the compatibility polymorphism hypothesis: the interactions between diversified fibrinogen-related proteins (FREPs) and diverse carbohydrate-decorated polymorphic parasite antigens determine recognition and trigger specific immunity. Complex glycan structures are also likely to play a role in the host specificity typifying snail-digenean interactions. We conclude by noting the dynamic and consequential interactions between snails and digeneans can be considered as drivers of diversification of digenean parasites and in the development and maintenance of specific immunity in gastropods.

Hemocytes and plasma of the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) display a diverse repertoire of sulfated and blood group A-modified N-glycans

The eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) has become a useful model system for glycan-dependent host-parasite interactions due to the hijacking of the oyster galectin CvGal1 for host entry by the protozoan parasite Perkinsus marinus, the causative agent of Dermo disease. In this study, we examined the N-glycans of both the hemocytes, which via CvGal1 are the target of the parasite, and the plasma of the oyster. In combination with HPLC fractionation, exoglycosidase digestion, and fragmentation of the glycans, mass spectrometry revealed that the major N-glycans of plasma are simple hybrid structures, sometimes methylated and core α1,6-fucosylated, with terminal β1,3-linked galactose; a remarkable high degree of sulfation of such glycans was observed. Hemocytes express a larger range of glycans, including core-difucosylated paucimannosidic forms, whereas bi- and triantennary glycans were found in both sources, including structures carrying sulfated and methylated variants of the histo-blood group A epitope. The primary features of the oyster whole hemocyte N-glycome were also found in dominin, the major plasma glycoprotein, which had also been identified as a CvGal1 glycoprotein ligand associated with hemocytes. The occurrence of terminal blood group moieties on oyster dominin and on hemocyte surfaces can account in part for their affinity for the endogenous CvGal1.

Methylation--an uncommon modification of glycans

A methyl (Me) group on a sugar residue is a rarely reported event. Until now, this type of modification has been found in the animal kingdom only in worms and molluscs, whereas it is more frequently present in some species of bacteria, fungi, algae and plants, but not in mammals. The monosaccharides involved as well as the positions of the Me groups on the sugar vary with species. Methylation appears to play a role in some recognition events, but details are still unknown. This review summarises the current knowledge on methylation of sugars in all types of organism.

Circulating Biomphalaria glabrata hemocyte subpopulations possess shared schistosome glycans and receptors capable of binding larval glycoconjugates

Host lectin-like recognition molecules may play an important role in innate resistance in Biomphalaria glabrata snails to larval schistosome infection, thus implicating parasite-expressed glycans as putative ligands for these lectin receptors. While host lectins may utilize specific glycan structures for parasite recognition, it also has been hypothesized that the parasite may use this system to evade immune detection by mimicking naturally-expressed host glycans, resulting in reduced immunorecognition capacity. By employing immunocytochemical (ICC) and Western blot assays using schistosome glycan-specific monoclonal antibodies (mABs) we sought to identify specific glycan epitopes (glycotopes) shared in common between larval Schistosoma mansoni and B. glabrata hemocytes, the primary immune effector cells in snails. Results confirmed the presence of selected larval glycotopes on subpopulations of hemocytes by ICC and association with numerous hemocyte proteins by Western blot analyses, including a trimannosyl core N-glycan (TriMan), and two fucosylated lacdiNAc (LDN) variants, F-LDN and F-LDN-F. Snail strain differences were seen in the prevalence of constitutively expressed F-LDN on hemocytes, and in the patterns of protein immunoreactivity with these mABs. In contrast, there was little to no hemocyte reactivity with mABs for Lewis X (LeX), LDN, LDN-F or LDN-DF. When intact hemocytes were exposed to larval transformation products (LTPs), distinct cell subpopulations displayed weak (LeX, LDN-DF) to moderate (LDN, LDN-F) glycotope reactivity by ICC, including snail strain differences in the prevalence of LDN-reactive cellular subsets. Far-Western blot analyses of the hemocytes following exposure to larval transformation proteins (LTPs) also revealed multiple mAB-reactive hemocyte protein bands for LeX, LDN, LDN-F, and LDN-DF. These results demonstrate the existence of complex patterns of shared larval glycan constitutively expressed on hemocytes and their proteins, as well as the ability of hemocytes to acquire shared glycans by the selective binding of parasite-released LTP. Unraveling the functional significance of these naturally expressed and acquired shared glycans on specific hemocyte populations represents an important challenge for future investigations.

Interaction of Schistosoma mansoni Sporocysts and Hemocytes of Biomphalaria

Human infection by Schistosoma mansoni affects more than 100 million people worldwide, most often in populations of developing countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The transmission of S. mansoni in human populations depends on the presence of some species of Biomphalaria that act as an intermediate host. The compatibility between S. mansoni and its intermediate host is influenced by behavioral, physiological, and genetical factors of the mollusc and the parasite. The susceptibility level of the mollusc has been attributed to the capacity of internal defense system (IDS)—hemocytes and soluble components of the hemolymph—to recognize and destroy the parasite, and this will be the center of interest of this paper. The schistosome-resistant Biomphalaria can be an alternative strategy for the control of schistosomiasis.

Glycotope sharing between snail hemolymph and larval schistosomes: larval transformation products alter shared glycan patterns of plasma proteins

Recent evidence supports the involvement of inducible, highly diverse lectin-like recognition molecules in snail hemocyte-mediated responses to larval Schistosoma mansoni. Because host lectins likely are involved in initial parasite recognition, we sought to identify specific carbohydrate structures (glycans) shared between larval S. mansoni and its host Biomphalaria glabrata to address possible mechanisms of immune avoidance through mimicry of elements associated with the host immunoreactivity. A panel of monoclonal antibodies (mABs) to specific S. mansoni glycans was used to identify the distribution and abundance of shared glycan epitopes (glycotopes) on plasma glycoproteins from B. glabrata strains that differ in their susceptibilities to infection by S. mansoni. In addition, a major aim of this study was to determine if larval transformation products (LTPs) could bind to plasma proteins, and thereby alter the glycotopes exposed on plasma proteins in a snail strain-specific fashion. Plasma fractions (< 100 kDa/> 100 kDa) from susceptible (NMRI) and resistant (BS-90) snail strains were subjected to SDS-PAGE and immunoblot analyses using mAB to LacdiNAc (LDN), fucosylated LDN variants, Lewis X and trimannosyl core glycans. Results confirmed a high degree of glycan sharing, with NMRI plasma exhibiting a greater distribution/abundance of LDN, F-LDN and F-LDN-F than BS-90 plasma (< 100 kDa fraction). Pretreatment of blotted proteins with LTPs significantly altered the reactivity of specific mABs to shared glycotopes on blots, mainly through the binding of LTPs to plasma proteins resulting in either glycotope blocking or increased glycotope attachment to plasma. Many LTP-mediated changes in shared glycans were snail-strain specific, especially those in the < 100 kDa fraction for NMRI plasma proteins, and for BS-90, mainly those in the > 100 kDa fraction. Our data suggest that differential binding of S. mansoni LTPs to plasma proteins of susceptible and resistant B. glabrata strains may significantly impact early anti-larval immune reactivity, and in turn, compatibility, in this parasite-host system.

Mass spectrometric comparison of N-glycan profiles from Caenorhabditis elegans mutant embryos

The free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a well-characterized eukaryotic model organism. Recent glycomic analyses of the glycosylation potential of this worm revealed an extremely high structural variability of its N-glycans. Moreover, the glycan patterns of each developmental stage appeared to be unique. In this study we have determined the N-glycan profiles of wild-type embryos in comparison to mutant embryos arresting embryogenesis early before differentiation and causing extensive transformations of cell identities, which allows to follow the diversification of N-glycans during development using mass spectrometry. As a striking feature, wild-type embryos obtained from liquid culture expressed a less heterogeneous oligosaccharide pattern than embryos recovered from agar plates. N-glycan profiles of mutant embryos displayed, in part, distinct differences in comparison to wild-type embryos suggesting alterations in oligosaccharide trimming and processing, which may be linked to specific cell fate alterations in the embryos.

Interaction between primary and secondary sporocysts of Schistosoma mansoni and the internal defence system of Biomphalaria resistant and susceptible to the parasite

The outcome of the interaction between Biomphalaria and Schistosoma mansoni depends on the response of the host internal defence system (IDS) and the escape mechanisms of the parasite. The aim of this study was to evaluate the responsiveness of the IDS (haemocytes and soluble haemolymph factors) of resistant and susceptible Biomphalaria tenagophila lineages and Biomphalaria glabrata lineages in the presence of in vitro-transformed primary sporocysts and secondary sporocysts obtained from infected B. glabrata. To do this, we assayed the cellular adhesion index (CAI), analysed viability/mortality, used fluorescent markers to evaluate the tegumental damage and transplanted secondary sporocysts. B. tenagophila Taim was more effective against primary and secondary sporocystes than the susceptible lineage and B. glabrata. Compared with secondary sporocysts exposed to B. tenagophila, primary sporocysts showed a higher CAI, a greater percentage of dead sporocysts and were labelled by lectin from Glycine max and Alexa-Fluor 488 fluorescent probes at a higher rate than the secondary sporocysts. However, the two B. tenagophila lineages showed no cercarial shedding after inoculation with secondary sporocysts. Our hypothesis that secondary sporocysts can escape the B. tenagophila IDS cannot be confirmed by the transplantation experiments. These data suggest that there are additional mechanisms involved in the lower susceptibilty of B. tenagophila to S. mansoni infection.