The Leishmania receptor for macrophages is a lipid‐containing glycoconjugate

The glycoconjugate of Leishmania major recognized by the monoclonal antibody WIC‐79.3 exists in two forms. The cellular form associated with the promastigote is a population of amphipathic molecules consistent with membrane insertion. In contrast, the extracellular form mainly consists of hydrophilic molecules, and probably arises by cleavage of the cellular form by an endogenous phospholipase. The hydrophilic population of extracellular glycoconjugate molecules binds specifically to macrophages but not to T or B lymphoid cells. Binding of the glycoconjugate and also intact promastigotes to macrophages in vitro is specifically inhibited by Fab fragments of WIC‐79.3. These data indicate that the L. major glycoconjugate is the parasite receptor for macrophages, and hence the molecule directly involved in the initiation of infection.