Protein glycosylation in Parelaphostrongylus tenuis -: first description of the Galα1-3Gal sequence in a nematode

The white-tailed deer is the definitive host of the parasitic nematode Parelaphostrongylus tenuis. This parasite also infects a wide variety of domesticated livestock, causing a debilitating neurologic disease. Glycoconjugates are becoming increasingly implicated in nematode strategies to maintain persistent infections in immunologically competent hosts. In this study, we have carried out detailed mass spectrometric analysis together with classical biochemical techniques, including western blotting and inummohistochemical staining with anticarbohydrate monoclonal antibodies and have shown that P. tenuis contains complex-type N-glycans with the antennae capped with Gal alpha 1-3Gal beta 1-4GIcNAc sequence. By mimicking a vertebrate glycan, Gal alpha 1-3Gal may aid the parasite in evading immunological detection by the host. This is the first report of the Gal alpha 1-3Gal sequence in a nematode.