Mapping of surface glycoproteins of Trypanosoma cruzi by two-dimensional electrophoresis: a correlation with the cell invasion capacity

The cell-surface iodinatable proteins of Trypanosoma cruzi have been analyzed by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under equilibrium conditions. Antigenic polypeptides were characterized after immunoprecipitation and glycoproteins were identified by means of lectin-affinity chromatography. Two glycoproteins, with affinity for concanavalin A, were found to be common to both infective (trypomastigote) and non-infective (epimastigote) forms: protein 1 (90 kDa, pI 5.5-6.5) and protein 2 (80 kDa, pI 5.3-6.3). In epimastigotes a specific concanavalin-A-binding surface glycoprotein (70 kDa, pI 5.5) was identified. Trypomastigote forms, on the other hand, presented several specific iodinatable surface components: glycoproteins 3(85 kDa, pI 5.5), 4 (85 kDa, pI 5.0), 6 (100 kDa, pI 6.5), 7 (120 kDa, pI 6.3), 8 (68 kDa, pI 6.7) and several minor high-molecular-mass acid proteins, all containing glucose and/or mannose, and glycoprotein 5 (85 kDa, pI 6.3-7.5), containing N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (Tc-85). Proteins 1, 2 and 5 were the only ones which gave clear evidence of charge heterogeneity. Most of the surface proteins of trypomastigote forms, the exception being proteins 3, 4 and 8, were removed by treatment with trypsin. This proteolytic treatment results in 90% inhibition of the in vitro vertebrate-cell-invasion capacity of the parasites. Upon reincubation in culture medium for 4 h, the trypsin-removed glycoproteins are again detected, an observation that correlates well with the recovery of the cell-penetration capacity observed in the same period.