Transglutaminase-catalyzed reaction is important for molting of Onchocerca volvulus third-stage larvae.

Highly insoluble proteins, which are probably cross-linked, are common in the cuticle and epicuticle of filarial parasites and other nematode species. We have investigated the possible involvement of transglutaminase (TGase)-catalyzed reactions in the development of Onchocerca volvulus fourth-stage larvae (L4) by testing the effects of TGase inhibitors on the survival of third-stage larvae (L3) and the molting of L3 to L4 in vitro. The larvae were cultured in the presence of three specific TGase inhibitors: monodansylcadaverine, cystamine, and N-benzyloxycarbonyl-D,L-beta-(3-bromo-4,5-dihydroisoxazol-5-yl)-al anine benzylamide. None of the inhibitors reduced the viability of either L3 or L4. However, the inhibitors reduced, in a time- and dose-dependent manner, the number of L3 that molted to L4 in vitro. Molting was completely inhibited in the presence of 100 to 200 microM inhibitors. Ultrastructural examination of L3 that did not molt in the presence of monodansylcadaverine or cystamine indicated that the new L4 cuticle was synthesized, but there was an incomplete separation between the L3 cuticle and the L4 epicuticle. The product of the TGase-catalyzed reaction was localized in molting L3 to cuticle regions where the separation between the old and new cuticles occurs and in the amphids of L3 by a monoclonal antibody that reacts specifically with the isopeptide epsilon-(gamma-glutamyl)lysine. These studies suggest that molting and successful development of L4 also depends on TGase-catalyzed reactions.