Adherence of Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites to rat and human colonic mucosa.

We studied the adherence of [3H]thymidine-labeled axenic Entamoeba histolytica (strain HM1-IMSS) to in vitro preparations of rat and human colonic mucosa. Studies were performed with fixed or unfixed rat colonic mucosa, unfixed rat mucosa exposed to trypsin, unfixed rat submucosa, and fixed human colonic mucosa. Twenty percent of the amebae adhered to fixed rat colonic mucosa; adherence was specifically inhibited by N-acetyl-D-galactosamine (GalNAc), galactose, and asialofetuin. The adherence of amebae to fixed human colonic mucosa was also GalNAc inhibitable. Greater adherence was found with unfixed rat colonic mucosa (40.9%) and was not GalNAc inhibitable unless the tissue was first exposed to trypsin. However, GalNAc did inhibit the adherence of amebae to unfixed rat submucosa. Glutaraldehyde fixation of amebae inactivates known amebic adhesion proteins; there was a markedly decreased adherence of fixed amebae to trypsin-exposed mucosa or fixed rat colonic mucosa. However, fixed or viable amebae had equal levels of adherence to unfixed rat colonic mucosa, suggesting the presence of a host adhesion protein that binds to receptors on amebae. Human (10%) and rabbit (5%) immune sera reduced the adherence of viable amebae to fixed rat colonic mucosa. We concluded that the GalNAc-inhibitable adhesion protein on the surface of E. histolytica trophozoites mediated adherence to fixed rat mucosa, fixed human colonic mucosa, trypsin-exposed unfixed rat mucosa, and unfixed rat submucosa. The surface of unfixed rat colonic mucosa contained a glutaraldehyde- and trypsin-sensitive host adhesion protein, perhaps in the overlying mucus blanket, which bound viable or fixed E. histolytica trophozoites.