Abstract
Adhesion is regarded as an important feature in the pathogenesis of various microorganisms. Ability to recognize extracellular matrix proteins, such as laminin or fibronectin, has been correlated with invasiveness. We report that laminin enhances the adhesion of the parasitic protozoa Trichomonas vaginalis and Tritrichomonas foetus to a polystyrene substrate and to the surface of epithelial cells (Madin-Darby canine kidney cell line) in vitro. The enhancement was higher for T. vaginalis than for T. foetus. Addition of anti-laminin antibodies to medium significantly inhibited the adhesion of parasites to polystyrene substrate. Indirect immunofluorescence and transmission electron microscopy of replicas of the parasite's surface labeled with antibody-gold complexes showed laminin-binding sites distributed over the parasite surface. Iodinated P1 fragment of laminin, which retains the laminin-binding site, binds saturably to the parasite surface with a Kd of 19.5 nM, for about 3 X 10(5) binding sites per cell. Immunoblotting analysis of whole parasite extracts showed that a protein of 118 kDa is responsible for laminin binding.