| Budget Amount *help |
¥2,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,100,000)
Fiscal Year 1989: ¥300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥300,000)
Fiscal Year 1988: ¥1,800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000)
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| Research Abstract |
The antigenic properties of glycolipids and their importance as immunogens have been well established (Alving, 1977; Marcus and Schwarting, 1976; Hakomori, 1981). Blood group determinants, O antigens in murine thymus and brain tissues, Forsman antigens and receptors for bacterial toxins have been found to be carried by glycolipids which participate in various reaction with numerous biological substances including lectins. Recently, we demonstrated glycolipids in the lipid extracts of the epimastigote forms of T. cruzi cultured in a liver- infusion-tryptose medium using by thin layer chromatography on a silicic acid (Nagakura and Kaneda, 1982). During this project, we continued to characterize the antigenic properties of glycolipid fraction derived from T. cruzi by enzyme-linked immunoassay method (ELISA) and studied on the antigenic differences between several strains of the parasites. We had shown that the fraction was antigenic because specific antibodies were detected in the sera of infected mice (Kaneda et al., 1987). Furthermore, we produced several monoclonal antibodies against T. cruzi. The reactivity of the monoclonal antibodies and the glycolipid fraction was determined by the ELISA test. One of the monoclonal antibodies, which recognized antigenic epitopes on the surface of all stages of the parasite, strongly reacted to the glycolipid fraction. Based on these observations, we suggested that the glycolipid fraction may exist on the surface membrane of T. cruzi. In our laboratory, we are able to grow large number of parasites in culture, assuring a readily available supply of antigen. We plan to study the usefulness of this glycolipid antigen in the diagnosis of Chagas' disease.
In another study, we examined the cytotoxic effects of stearylamine-bearing liposomes against trypomastigotes of T. cruzi. Exposure of the parasites to the liposomes caused degenerative changes. These results represent a promising new strategy for the therapy of Chagas' disease.
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