Surfactant protein D binding to terminal alpha1-3-linked fucose residues and to Schistosoma mansoni

Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2004 Nov;31(5):565-72. doi: 10.1165/rcmb.2004-0105OC. Epub 2004 Jul 29.

Abstract

Pulmonary surfactant protein (SP)-D is an important component of the innate immune system of the lung, which is thought to function by binding to specific carbohydrates on the surface of viruses and unicellular pathogens. SP-D has been shown to have a relatively high affinity for the monosaccharides mannose, glucose, and fucose. However, there is limited information on SP-D binding to complex carbohydrate structures, and binding of SP-D to fucose in the context of an oligosaccharide has not yet been investigated. In this study, we used surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy to examine the potential of SP-D to bind to various synthetic fucosylated oligosaccharides, and identified Fucalpha1-3GalNAc and Fucalpha1-3GlcNAc elements as strong ligands. These types of fucosylated glycoconjugates are presented at the surface of Schistosoma mansoni, a parasitic worm that, during development, transiently resides in the lung. In line with the findings by surface plasmon resonance, we found that SP-D can bind to larval stages of S. mansoni, demonstrating for the first time that SP-D interacts with multicellular lung pathogens.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Carbohydrates / chemistry
  • Concanavalin A / chemistry
  • Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel
  • Fucose / chemistry*
  • Glycoproteins / chemistry
  • Humans
  • Leukocytes / metabolism
  • Ligands
  • Lung / cytology
  • Microscopy, Confocal
  • Models, Chemical
  • Protein Binding
  • Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein D / chemistry*
  • Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein D / metabolism
  • Schistosoma mansoni / metabolism*
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Carbohydrates
  • Glycoproteins
  • Ligands
  • Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein D
  • Concanavalin A
  • Fucose