Hoang, V.C., Simpson, H.V., Williams, M.A.K., and Simcock, D.C. (2009) Effects of parasitism on gastrointestinal mucins of sheep. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 36 (4). pp. 479-480.

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Abstract

Mucins play important roles in host-pathogen interactions, influencing host resistance and establishment of infection, as pathogen recognition sites and as a source of nutrients. They are highly glycosylated molecules and changes in monosaccharide composition during parasitism have been reported in pigs, mice and rats. There are no data on sheep gastrointestinal (GI) mucin modifications after infection with nematodes. Experiments were designed to examine the effects of parasites on GI monosaccharide component of mucins of sheep: (1) non-infected; (2) sheep infected with 10 000 Haemonchus contortus and slaughtered 21 days post infection (p.i.); (3) sheep infected with 15 000 Ostertagia circumcincta and slaughtered 28 days p.i. Mucus was scraped off the surface of the abomasal fundus. Gel filtration and CsCl density gradient centrifugation were used to purify the mucins. Mucins were hydrolysed in 2M HCl to release monosaccharides that were quantified with a HPAEC CarboPac-PA20 column. Four monosaccharides that were detected in mucin glycoproteins were fucose, glucosamine, galactosamine and galactose. In uninfected animals, the predominant of glucosamine and galactosamine (24.6 and 21.9 respectively). Fucose (12.6) approached a significant decrease in H. contortus infected (6.3) and O. circumcincta infected sheep (8.3). Galactosamine was lower in infected animals than in worm-free sheep. There was no difference in the proportion of galactose between uninfected and H. contortus infected animals (40.2) whereas it increased in those O. circumcincta infected (62.9). The study showed that parasitism caused changes in the ratio of hexoses and hexosamines in gastrointestinal mucins of sheep.

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