Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Human Blastocyst Biopsy and Vitrification
Published on: July 26, 2019
Degradation of human secretory immunoglobulin A by Blastocystis
Manoj K Puthia1, Aparna Vaithilingam, Jia Lu
1Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Parasitology, Department of Microbiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117597.
Abstract:
Microbial immunoglobulin A (IgA) proteases cleave human secretory IgA, promoting the mucosal adhesion of pathogens. To investigate if the enteric protozoan Blastocystis degrades human secretory IgA, cell lysate and conditioned medium from two species were exposed to immunoglobulin A. Secretory IgA was cleaved by both cell lysate and conditioned medium with mainly cysteine proteinase activity in B. hominis B isolate and aspartic proteinase activity in B. ratii WR1 isolate. These findings suggest that Blastocystis proteases may play a role in parasite survival in vivo.
Related Concept Videos
Transcytosis of IgG
IgG molecules from a mother undergo transcytosis starting around 13 weeks of gestation. The amount of IgG transferred and entering the fetal blood circulation increases with...
Development of Immunocompetence
The initial cells that migrate from the fetal thymus settle within the skin and epithelial tissues lining the mouth, digestive tract, and in females, the uterus and vagina. These cells, including skin-based dendritic cells, serve as antigen-presenting cells, playing a key role in T cell activation.
Subsequent T...
Humoral Immune Responses
Amebiasis
Immunodeficiency Diseases
There are three main causes of immunodeficiency disorders...
Giardiasis

