Antibodies elicited by the bovine lungworm, Dictyocaulus viviparus, cross-react with platelet-activating factor

Parasite N-glycans may play an important role in helminth infections. As antibodies from Dictyocaulus viviparus-infected calves strongly react with N-glycans, we investigated the characteristics of the major immunodominant glycoprotein (GP300) of this parasite. Probing of worm extracts with various lectins demonstrated unique binding of GP300 to wheat germ agglutinin. Analysis of lectin-purified GP300 revealed that the glycan was substituted with phosphorylcholine and reacted with the phosphorylcholine-specific antibody TEPC-15. Competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with GP300-coated plates and GP300-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) in conjunction with free phosphorylcholine or TEPC-15 demonstrated that antibodies from infected calves recognized phosphorylcholine on GP300. Additional assays showed that these antibodies cross-reacted with the phosphorylcholine moiety present on platelet-activating factor (PAF; 1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine), a proinflammatory mediator of the host. Heavily infected calves contained high levels of serum GP300-specific IgG1 but low levels of IgA and IgG2 and showed a reduced influx of eosinophils in the lungs, all consistent with a neutralization of PAF activity. In conclusion, we demonstrated that D. viviparus infection elicits GP300-specific antibodies that cross-react with PAF and may neutralize PAF function, thus limiting the development of a protective response as well as parasite-induced host pathology.