Characterization of a protein from Trypanosoma cruzi trypomastigotes that cleaves non-immune IgG bound through its Fab fragment
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1Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, São Paulo, Brazil.
A protein from Trypanosoma cruzi bloodstream trypomastigotes that binds IgG from man and several other animal species was isolated and characterized. The 52-kDa protein obtained from different T. cruzi cell extracts showed saturable binding with a K of 3.72 nM. Immunoblot analysis revealed that Fab, but not Fc, fragments of the Ig were recognized. When the protein was added to an unrelated C-fixation reaction, lysis was abolished in a dose-dependent fashion. When freshly prepared T. cruzi extracts were run in a 10% acrylamide SDS gel into which normal rabbit IgG was incorporated before polymerization, proteolytic activity, as seen by a transparent band after Coomassie blue staining, migrated in the same m.w. range of the 52-kDa protein. These data provide further clues to the mechanisms through which this pathogen escapes the host's immune response, thus maintaining a long-standing infection.
A protein from Trypanosoma cruzi bloodstream trypomastigotes that binds IgG from man and several other animal species was isolated and characterized. The 52-kDa protein obtained from different T. cruzi cell extracts showed saturable binding with a K of 3.72 nM. Immunoblot analysis revealed that Fab, but not Fc, fragments of the Ig were recognized. When the protein was added to an unrelated C-fixation reaction, lysis was abolished in a dose-dependent fashion. When freshly prepared T. cruzi extracts were run in a 10% acrylamide SDS gel into which normal rabbit IgG was incorporated before polymerization, proteolytic activity, as seen by a transparent band after Coomassie blue staining, migrated in the same m.w. range of the 52-kDa protein. These data provide further clues to the mechanisms through which this pathogen escapes the host's immune response, thus maintaining a long-standing infection.