Disruption of the C. elegans Intestinal Brush Border by the Fungal Lectin CCL2 Phenocopies Dietary Lectin Toxicity in Mammals.

ABSTRACT: Lectins are non-immunoglobulin carbohydrate-binding proteins without enzymatic activity towards the bound carbohydrates. Many lectins of e.g. plants or fungi have been suggested to act as toxins to defend the host against predators and parasites. We have previously shown that the Coprinopsis cinerea lectin 2 (CCL2), which binds to α1,3-fucosylated N-glycan cores, is toxic to Caenorhabditis elegans and results in developmental delay and premature death. In this study, we investigated the underlying toxicity phenotype at the cellular level by electron and confocal microscopy. We found that CCL2 directly binds to the intestinal apical surface and leads to a highly damaged brush border with loss of microvilli, actin filament depolymerization, and invaginations of the intestinal apical plasma m

SUBMITTER: Stutz K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4461262 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature