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The Effects of Entamoeba histolytica Lysates on Human Colonic Mucins 1
Author(s) -
Spice William M.,
Ackers John P.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of eukaryotic microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 1066-5234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1998.tb04520.x
Subject(s) - entamoeba histolytica , mucin , biology , virulence , microbiology and biotechnology , trypsin , oligosaccharide , enzyme , biochemistry , glycoside hydrolase , gene
Detergent lysates of Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites contained high levels of β‐N acetyl‐D‐glucosaminidase. β‐N acetyl‐D‐galactosaminidase and α‐D‐galactosidase activity, and lower but significant levels of five other glycosidases. Although these activities should have been capable of largely degrading the oligosaccharide side‐chains of human colonic mucin, in fact only about one third of high MW mucin was degraded in 72 h and trypsin alone produced a similar effect. There was no evidence that these glycosidases were excreted and we conclude that they are unlikely to represent significant virulence factors for E. histolytica.