Revealing the anti-HRP epitope in Drosophila and Caenorhabditis

Antibodies are very often used as specific cell and/or tissue markers. An example of this is anti-horseradish peroxidase (HRP), an antibody raised against a plant glycoprotein, which was shown some twenty-five years ago to specifically stain neural tissue in an animal, Drosophila melanogaster. This peculiar finding was later expanded to other invertebrate species including Caenorhabditis elegans, which were also shown to bear anti-HRP epitopes. Initial experiments indicated that the epitopes recognised by anti-HRP in invertebrates are of carbohydrate nature. Indeed, more recent experiments have characterised relevant core alpha1-3-fucosylated N-glycan structures that act as epitopes in various model and parasitic organisms. Moreover, a number of enzymes required for the synthesis of such structures have been identified. Over the years, medically-relevant roles of these structures have become apparent as regards allergenicity and immunoregulation. Although major advances have been made in understanding of the underlying mechanisms and structures related to the anti-HRP epitope, the in vivo role of the relevant epitopes in neural and other tissues is yet to be resolved. Current understanding of the anti-HRP epitopes synthesis and their relevance is discussed and elaborated.