Characterization of microneme antigens of Cryptosporidium parvum (Protozoa, Apicomplexa)

Two monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) raised against purified excysted oocysts and sporozoites of cryptosporidium parvum reacted in an immunofluorescence assay with antigens located at the anterior pole of the zoites. On Western blots of purified oocysts, these MAbs reacted with a series of bands between 210 and 40 kDa; several of these bands were recognized by both MAbs; others were specific. One MAb (TOU) did not react after periodic acid treatment and was therefore considered to recognize a carbohydrate epitope; as determined by immunoelectron microscopy, this MAb reacted on micronemes of sporozoites and merozoites and also with the peripheral cytoplasm and the parasitophorous vacuole of trophozoites and macrogametes. The other MAb (HAD) reacted with an epitope that was insensitive to periodate treatment but did not react in the immunoelectron microscopy assay. However, the similar labeling pattern obtained with the immunofluorescence assay with both MAbs and the fact that the two antibodies share common bands on Western immunoblots suggest that both MAbs react with molecules located in Cryptosporidium micronemes, one reacting with a glycannic epitope and the other reacting with a peptidic epitope.