Carbohydrate Detection and Lectin Isolation from Tegumental Tissue of Fasciola hepatica

Fascioliasis is a chronic hepatic disease and may be resulted from mechani­cal/molecular parasite adhesion to host liver tissue. The aim of this study was to detect surface car­bohydrate and lectin, carbohydrate-binding protein isolation that might be responsible of this molecular binding. The present experimental work was conducted in the Department of Medical Parasitol­ogy and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Te­hran, Iran. Fasciola hepatica parasites were collected from abattoir (Saman, Tehran, Iran) and surface mannose-carbohydrate was detected by fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) conju­gated lectin (Lentil). Lectin of tegumental tissue from F. hepatica was isolated by affinity chroma­tography and detected by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Mannose carbohydrate was observed on the surface of tegumental tissue from para­site under fluorescence microscope. Carbohydrate-binding protein or lectin with MW of 50 kDa also was isolated from homogenized tegument of helminth. These results are important for understanding of molecular pathogenesis of F. hepat­ica at the chronic phase of fascioliasis