Svobodová M, Volf P, Killick-Kendrick R
Department of Parasitology, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 1996 Jun;90(3):329-36. doi: 10.1080/00034983.1996.11813058.
Lectins which agglutinate Leishmania promastigotes were demonstrated in gut lysates from laboratory colonies of five Phlebotomus and two Lutzomyia species. In general, the highest agglutination titres were found in P. halepensis and Lu. longipalpis (Jacobina). Marked differences were found in the agglutination of promastigotes of various Leishmania species and strains and high agglutination titres were observed in some natural vector-parasite combinations, such as Phlebotomus argentipes and Le. donovani. Intraspecific variability, in agglutination of Le. major strains, could be related to the varying infectivity of the strains to laboratory animals. Similar carbohydrates, of which the most effective were D-mannosamine and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, inhibited the agglutination of Le. major and Le. donovani promastigotes by midgut extracts from P. papatasi and Lu. longipalpis. D-Mannosamine and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine inhibited agglutination of promastigotes in all vector-parasite combinations. The results of the carbohydrate-inhibition tests indicate that the lectin specificities in Phlebotomus are similar to those in Lutzomyia.
