Wednesday, August 25, 2010

The binding of Toxoplasma gondii glycosylphosphatidylinositols to galectin-3 is required for their recognition by macrophages

J Biol Chem. 2010 Aug 20. [Epub ahead of print]

The binding of Toxoplasma gondii glycosylphosphatidylinositols to galectin-3 is required for their recognition by macrophages

Debierre-Grockiego F, Niehus S, Coddeville B, Elass E, Poirier F, Weingart R, Schmidt RR, Mazurier J, Guerardel Y, Schwarz RT.

UFR Sciences Pharmaceutiques, France;

Abstract
We showed that the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha by macrophages in response to Toxoplasma gondii glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPIs) requires the expression of both Toll-Like Receptors TLR2 and TLR4, but not of their co-receptor CD14. Galectin-3 is a beta-galactoside-binding protein with immune-regulatory effects, which associates with TLR2. We demonstrate here by using the surface plasmon resonance method that the GPIs of T. gondii bind to human galectin-3 with strong affinity and in a dose-dependent manner. The use of a synthetic glycan and of the lipid moiety cleaved from the GPIs show that both parts are involved in the interaction with galectin-3. GPIs of T. gondii also bind to galectin-1 but with a lower affinity and only through the lipid moiety. At the cellular level, the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha induced by T. gondii GPIs in macrophages depends on the expression of galectin-3 but not of galectin-1. This study is the first identification of a galectin-3 ligand of T. gondii origin, and galectin-3 might be a co-receptor presenting the GPIs to the TLRs on macrophages.

PMID: 20729207 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

1 comment:

Unknown said...

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