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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 278, Issue 39, 37987-37997, September 26, 2003
Structurally Distinct Requirements for Binding of P-selectin Glycoprotein Ligand-1 and Sialyl Lewis x to Anaplasma phagocytophilum and P-selectin*![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() **
From the
Received for publication, June 2, 2003 , and in revised form, July 1, 2003.
Colonization of neutrophils by the bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum causes the disease human granulocytic ehrlichiosis. The pathogen also infects mice, its natural host. Like binding of P-selectin, binding of A. phagocytophilum to human neutrophils requires expression of P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) and 13-fucosyltransferases that construct the glycan determinant sialyl Lewis x (sLex). Binding of A. phagocytophilum to murine neutrophils, however, requires expression of 13-fucosyltransferases but not PSGL-1. To further characterize the molecular features that A. phagocytophilum recognizes, we measured bacterial binding to microspheres bearing specific glycoconjugates or to cells expressing human PSGL-1 and particular glycosyltransferases. Like P-selectin, A. phagocytophilum bound to purified human PSGL-1 and to glycopeptides modeled after the N terminus of human PSGL-1 that presented sLex on an O-glycan. Unlike P-selectin, A. phagocytophilum bound to glycopeptides that contained sLex but lacked tyrosine sulfation or a specific core-2 orientation of sLex on the O-glycan. A. phagocytophilum bound only to glycopeptides that contained a short amino acid sequence found in the N-terminal region of human but not murine PSGL-1. Unlike P-selectin, A. phagocytophilum bound to cells expressing PSGL-1 in cooperation with sLex on both N-and O-glycans. Moreover, bacteria bound to microspheres coupled independently with glycopeptide lacking sLex and with sLex lacking peptide. These results demonstrate that, unlike P-selectin, A. phagocytophilum binds cooperatively to a nonsulfated N-terminal peptide in human PSGL-1 and to sLex expressed on PSGL-1 or other glycoproteins. Distinct bacterial adhesins may mediate these cooperative interactions.
Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis is a tick-transmitted disease caused by a bacterium recently named Anaplasma phagocytophilum (13). Clinical manifestations include fever, headache, myalgia, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and impaired host defenses that occasionally lead to fatal complications (47). A. phagocytophilum is maintained in a zoonotic cycle between the arthropod vector, Ixodes scapularis, and mice that serve as reservoir hosts (810). Human infection is inadvertent and is not an obligate component of the life cycle of the bacterium.
A hallmark of infection in both mice and humans is the colonization of neutrophils (1, 2). This tropism for a particular cell type suggests that the bacteria recognize specific molecular determinants on the neutrophil surface. Current information suggests that these determinants are related to the cell-surface ligands for selectins, a family of cell adhesion molecules that mediate tethering and rolling of leukocytes on vascular surfaces during the earliest steps of inflammation (11, 12). P-, E-, and L-selectin bind to
Binding of A. phagocytophilum to human myeloid HL-60 cells requires cell surface sialylation and correlates with expression of FTVII (25). Moreover, mAbs to N-terminal epitopes on human PSGL-1 inhibit binding of A. phagocytophilum to human neutrophils or HL-60 cells (26). Expression of both PSGL-1 and FTVII in heterologous cells renders them susceptible to binding and infection by A. phagocytophilum. These data were interpreted to indicate that A. phagocytophilum specifically recognizes fucosylated PSGL-1 (26). However, measurements of bacterial interactions with intact leukocytes did not demonstrate direct binding of A. phagocytophilum to PSGL-1. Studies in mice suggest that the molecular determinants required for A. phagocytophilum binding might be more complex than those originally proposed (27). Bacterial binding to and infection of leukocytes from mice lacking both FTVII and FTIV is markedly diminished in vitro and in vivo, consistent with the observed requirement for In this study, we used purified molecularly defined glycoconjugates coupled to microspheres, in conjunction with experiments with transfected cells, to more precisely determine the structural features required for binding to A. phagocytophilum. Our data reveal clear differences in how P-selectin and A. phagocytophilum bind to PSGL-1. They further suggest that A. phagocytophilum binds cooperatively to distinct ligands on leukocyte surfaces.
Preparation of Labeled, Fixed A. phagocytophilumCell-free A. phagocytophilum were prepared as described (27, 28). Bacteria were washed once with Iscove's modified Dulbecco's modified Eagle's media (Invitrogen) and incubated with 10 µM CellTracker Green (Molecular Probes) for 45 min at 37 °C. Labeled bacteria were centrifuged twice to eliminate unbound probe before fixing with 1% paraformaldehyde (27). In some experiments, bacteria were fixed under identical conditions with Saccomanno fluid (Stablab Medical Products), which does not cross-link proteins. Unless noted otherwise, data from paraformaldehyde-fixed bacteria are presented in this paper. ReagentsAnti-human PSGL-1 mAbs PL1 and PL2 (murine IgG1) were described previously (17). Anti-sLex mAb HECA-452 (rat IgM) (29) was purified from hybridoma cells obtained from American Type Culture Collection. Monovalent sLex coupled to biotin by a linker group was purchased from Glycotech. Anti-mouse PSGL-1 mAb 4RA10 (rat IgG1) (30) was a kind gift from Dr. Dietmar Vestweber, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany. CHO-131, a murine mAb that recognizes sLex only on core-2 O-glycans (31), was a kind gift from Dr. Bruce Walcheck, University of Minnesota. FITC-conjugated goat anti-rat IgG mAb, FITC-conjugated goat anti-rat IgM, FITC-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG (H + L), and FITC-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgM were purchased from Caltag. Isotype control rat IgM and mouse IgM were purchased from BD Biosciences. The glyco(sulfo)peptides, 1-GP-1, 1-GP-6, 1-GP-6', 2-GSP-1, 2-GP-6, 2-GSP-6, 4-GP-5, mouse GP-6, human-murine GP-6, and murine-human GP-6 were synthesized as described (2022). Soluble recombinant human PSGL-1 (sPSGL-1) was purified as described (32). Biotinylation of Glycoconjugates and Proteins2-GP-1, 2-GSP-1, 2-GP-6, 2-GSP-6, and sPSGL-1 (20 µg) were biotinylated at their C-terminal cysteine residues by incubation with 4-mM N-[6-(biotinamido)hexyl]-3-(2'-pyridyldithio)propionamide (Pierce) as described (22). Biotinylated sPSGL-1 was dialyzed against PBS to remove free biotin (32). Coupling Glycoconjugates or sPSGL-1 to MicrospheresStreptavidin-coated, polystyrene microspheres (6-µm diameter, Polysciences; 2 x 107 microspheres) were incubated with 5 ng of biotinylated 2-GSP-1, 2-GP-6, and 2-GSP-6, 500 ng of biotinylated sPSGL-1, or 50, 500, or 5000 ng of biotinylated sLex in 100 µl of PBS at 4 °C for 1 h and then washed three times with PBS (32). In some experiments, the N terminus of 1-GP-1, 1-GP-6, 1-GP-6', 2-GP-6, 4-GP-5, murine-human GP-6, or human-murine GP-6 was directly coupled to carboxylated microspheres (6-µm diameter; Polysciences) as described (33). Briefly, carboxylated microspheres (107) were washed sequentially with carbonate and phosphate buffers. The microspheres were then gently mixed with 2% carbodiimide (Polysciences) in phosphate buffer for 4 h at room temperature. After incubation and washing with borate buffer, the microspheres were incubated with 50 ng of glyco(sulfo)peptides in 200 µl of borate buffer with gentle mixing overnight at 4 °C. The microspheres were then incubated with 0.2 M ethanolamine for 30 min at room temperature to block unreacted carboxylate sites. After washing with PBS, the microspheres were stored in PBS containing 0.5% bovine serum albumin with 0.1% sodium azide.
CellsTransfected Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells coexpressing human PSGL-1 with FTVII or with FTVII and core-2 Measurement of Binding of mAbs or A. phagocytophilum to Microspheres or Cells by Flow CytometryMicrospheres, PSGL-1-transfected CHO cells, or HL-60 cells (106) in 200 µl of Hanks' balanced salt solution with 0.5% human serum albumin were incubated with 10 µg/ml PL1, PL2, HECA-452, 4RA10, CHO-131, or the respective isotype-matched control murine IgG1, rat IgM, rat IgG1, or murine IgM at 4 °C for 30 min. After washing, they were incubated with FITC-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG (H + L), FITC-conjugated goat anti-rat IgG, FITC-conjugated goat anti-rat IgM, or FITC-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgM at 4 °C for 30 min.
Binding of A. phagocytophilum to microspheres or cells was measured as described (27). Briefly, 106 microspheres or CHO cells were incubated with fixed, CellTracker Green-labeled A. phagocytophilum at room temperature for 30 min in 200 µl of Hanks' balanced salt solution with 0.5% human serum albumin. After washing, microspheres or cells were fixed with 1% paraformaldehyde. In some experiments before binding assays, microspheres or cells were pretreated with a mixture of sialidases (0.6 units/ml sialidase from Arthrobacter ureafaciens and 5 µg/ml sialidase from Vibrio cholera) in Hanks' balanced salt solution with 1% human serum albumin at 37 °C for 1 h. In other experiments, binding assays were performed in the presence of 10 µg/ml anti-human PSGL-1 mAbs PL1 or PL2. Some cells were treated for 3 days (CHO cells) or 7 days (HL-60 cells) with 10 µg/ml kifunensine (Calbiochem) or for 3 days with 7.5 mM benzyl-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-
A. phagocytophilum Binds to a Glycopeptide Modeled after the N-terminal Region of Human PSGL-1 Independently of Tyrosine SulfationFor A. phagocytophilum binding studies, we initially used a group of well defined ligands with varying affinities for P-selectin (Fig. 1). Recombinant sPSGL-1 was coexpressed in CHO cells with FTVII and core2GlcNAcT-I to confer the glycosylation required for optimal binding to selectins (34). P-selectin binds to a small N-terminal region that includes three sulfated tyrosines and a core-2 O-glycan capped with sLex at Thr-16. This region contains the epitope for PL1, a mAb that blocks binding of PSGL-1 to P-selectin (37). 2-GSP-6, a glycosulfopeptide modeled after this region, binds with equivalent affinity to P-selectin (20). 2-GP-6, which lacks sulfate on the tyrosines, binds with much lower affinity to P-selectin. 2-GP-1 and 2-GSP-1, which have only a single N-acetylgalactosamine residue attached to Thr-16, do not detectably bind to P-selectin. sLex, a simple tetrasaccharide that lacks all peptide determinants and the core-2 O-glycan presentation, binds with very low affinity to P-selectin (21).
sPSGL-1 and each glyco(sulfo)peptide contained a C-terminal cysteine, which allowed specific attachment of biotin to the sulfhydryl group. sLex was attached to biotin through a linker. Each biotinylated ligand was coupled to streptavidin coated on 6-µm microspheres. Microspheres were prepared with equivalent densities of sPSGL-1, 2-GSP-6, 2-GSP-1, and 2-GP-6, as measured by flow cytometry with PL1 (Fig. 2A). The anti-sLex mAb HECA-452 bound equivalently to microspheres coated with 2-GSP-6 or GP-6 as expected, because each peptide contains a single core-2 O-glycan that is capped with sLex (Fig. 2B). HECA-452 bound to
Fluorescence-labeled, paraformaldehyde-fixed A. phagocytophilum were incubated with ligand-coupled microspheres, and binding was measured by flow cytometry. The labeled bacteria bound to sPSGL-1-coupled microspheres but not to control microspheres (Fig. 2C). The anti-PSGL-1 mAb PL1 blocked binding, whereas PL2, an mAb that recognizes a more membraneproximal epitope on PSGL-1, had no effect on binding. This result demonstrates that A. phagocytophilum adheres to a PSGL-1-coated surface lacking other glycoproteins. Furthermore, the bacteria specifically bound to microspheres coated with 2-GSP-6, demonstrating that the P-selectin binding region of PSGL-1 was sufficient for productive binding (Fig. 2D). Chelation of divalent cations with EDTA had no effect on binding, as observed previously (25) for bacterial binding to HL-60 cells. This contrasts with the Ca2+-dependent binding of selectins to PSGL-1 and other sLex-capped glycoconjugates (11, 12). Labeled A. phagocytophilum also bound specifically to 2-GP-6-coupled microspheres (Fig. 2E), demonstrating that binding does not require tyrosine sulfation of PSGL-1. This contrasts sharply with the importance of tyrosine sulfation of PSGL-1 for optimal binding to P-selectin (3840). The bacteria did not bind to microspheres coated with 2-GSP-1 (Fig. 2F). Thus, the O-glycan component of the PSGL-1-derived glycopeptide is essential for binding. Bacteria fixed with Saccomanno, which does not cross-link proteins, also bound specifically to microspheres coated with sPSGL-1, 2-GSP-6, or 2-GP-6 (data not shown). This indicates that binding was not an artifact because of a specific method of fixation.
A. phagocytophilum Binding to a PSGL-1-derived Glycopeptide Requires
A. phagocytophilum Binding to a PSGL-1-derived Glycopeptide Does Not Require a Specific Orientation of sLex on the O-glycanP-selectin binds in a stereospecific manner to the N-terminal region of human PSGL-1, as dramatically demonstrated by its inability to bind to an isomeric glycosulfopeptide that presents sLex on an extended core-1 O-glycan rather than on a branched core-2 O-glycan (21). We measured A. phagocytophilum binding to two isomeric PSGL-1-derived glycopeptides, 1-GP-6, bearing a core-2 O-glycan, and 1-GP-6', bearing an extended core-1 O-glycan (Fig. 4A). The glycopeptides were N-terminally coupled to microspheres at matched densities (Fig. 4B). Labeled A. phagocytophilum bound equivalently to both microspheres (Fig. 4C). The anti-PSGL-1 mAb PL1 blocked binding to both microspheres, confirming the specificity of binding (data not shown). Furthermore, sialidase treatment of microspheres eliminated A. phagocytophilum binding (Fig. 4C). These data confirm that binding requires sialylation, as well as fucosylation of the glycan. They further demonstrate that bacterial binding, unlike P-selectin binding, does not require a specific orientation of the glycan on the PSGL-1-derived peptide.
A. phagocytophilum Binds Weakly to sLex Lacking Peptide The above results demonstrate that A. phagocytophilum binds readily to sLex presented on a PSGL-1-derived peptide independently of tyrosine sulfation or a specific alignment of the O-glycan. To determine whether the peptide itself contributes to bacterial recognition, we measured A. phagocytophilum binding to sLex lacking peptide, which was coupled to microspheres at three different densities as measured by mAb HECA-452 (Fig. 5A). Sialidase treatment eliminated HECA-452 binding to all three groups of microspheres (data not shown). Labeled A. phagocytophilum bound weakly to sLex in a sialidase-sensitive manner (Fig. 5B) but only when sLex was coupled to microspheres at an
A. phagocytophilum Binding to a PSGL-1-derived Glycopeptide Requires an Amino Acid Sequence Present in the N Terminus of Human but Not Murine PSGL-1A. phagocytophilum binds to both wild-type and PSGL-1-deficient murine neutrophils (27). The pathogen might have evolved a PSGL-1-independent mechanism to bind murine neutrophils, because it could not bind to murine PSGL-1. Consistent with this hypothesis, A. phagocytophilum bound only weakly to transfected CHO cells expressing murine PSGL-1 and FTVII (27). The N-terminal sequence of murine PSGL-1 sequence differs significantly from that of human PSGL-1 (41). Mutational analysis of the N-terminal region suggests that murine PSGL-1 requires sulfation of one of two tyrosines and O-glycosylation of a closely situated threonine to bind P-selectin (24). We compared A. phagocytophilum binding to biotinylated human and murine PSGL-1-derived glycopeptides that were coupled to streptavidin-coated microspheres. Each glycopeptide contained a core-2 O-glycan capped with sLex at the respective threonine thought to be important for P-selectin binding. Anti-human PSGL-1 mAb PL1 bound to microspheres coupled with human 2-GP-6 but not with murine GP-6, whereas anti-murine PSGL-1 mAb 4RA10 bound to microspheres coupled with murine GP-6 but not with human 2-GP-6 (Fig. 6, A and B). We also coupled two chimeric glycopeptides through their C-terminal cysteines to microspheres. Murine-human GP-6 substituted a five-residue peptide segment that separates the tyrosine closest to the O-linked threonine in the human sequence with a single asparagine residue that separates the tyrosine closest to the O-linked threonine in the murine sequence (Fig. 6C). Human-murine GP-6 substituted this single asparagine in the murine sequence with the five-residue human peptide (Fig. 6D). The substitution in murine-human GP-6 eliminated binding of anti-human PSGL-1 mAb but introduced binding of anti-murine PSGL-1 mAb 4RA10. Conversely, the substitution in human-murine GP-6 nearly eliminated binding of 4RA10 but introduced binding of PL1. These data confirm the previously determined epitope for PL1 (37) and further localize the 4RA10 epitope (30). Labeled A. phagocytophilum bound in a PL1-inhibitable manner to human 2-GP-6 and, to a slightly lesser extent, to human-murine GP-6 (Fig. 6E). In marked contrast, A. phagocytophilum did not bind detectably to murine GP-6 or murine-human GP-6 (Fig. 6F). These results demonstrate that a peptide sequence found in human but not murine PSGL-1 is required for binding to A. phagocytophilum.
A. phagocytophilum Binds to Cells Expressing Human PSGL-1 and FTVII in Cooperation with N- and O-glycans Bacterial binding to glycopeptide-coated microspheres required cooperative interactions with both the human PSGL-1-derived peptide and a sLex-capped O-glycan attached to Thr-16. Because cooperative binding did not require a specific orientation of the O-glycan at Thr-16, we asked whether A. phagocytophilum might bind to PSGL-1-expressing cells through interactions with sLex presented on glycans at other locations. For this purpose we used transfected CHO cells expressing wild-type human PSGL-1 or PSGL-1 in which Thr-16 was replaced with an alanine (T16A). The cells coexpressed FTVII and core2GlcNAcT-I, which enables construction of sLex on both N-glycans and core-2 O-glycans. Other cells coexpressed wild-type human PSGL-1 with FTVII but not with core2GlcNAcT-I. These cells express only short core-1 O-glycans that cannot be
To further explore the relative contributions of N- and O-glycans to binding to A. phagocytophilum, we treated transfected CHO cells with benzyl-GalNAc or kifunensine. Benzyl-GalNAc competitively inhibits extension and modification of O-glycans, resulting in accumulation of short Gal
Benzyl-GalNAc and kifunensine each partially reduced binding of HECA-452 to cells coexpressing PSGL-1, FTVII, and core2GlcNAcT-I, indicating that these cells express sLex on both N- and O-glycans (Fig. 8E). In contrast, kifunensine virtually eliminated HECA-452 binding to cells coexpressing only PSGL-1 and FTVII, whereas benzyl-GalNAc had no effect (Fig. 8F). This further documents that these cells express sLex primarily on N-glycans. Benzyl-GalNAc and kifunensine each partially inhibited binding of A. phagocytophilum to cells expressing PSGL-1, FTVII, and core2GlcNAcT-I (Fig. 8G). In cells expressing only PSGL-1 and FTVII, kifunensine eliminated bacterial binding, whereas benzyl-GalNAc had no effect (Fig. 8H). These data demonstrate that A. phagocytophilum can bind to PSGL-1 in cooperation with fucosylated N- and O-glycans. To confirm that this phenomenon was not specific to CHO cells, we studied human myelocytic HL-60 cells. Because A. phagocytophilum infects HL-60 cells as readily as human neutrophils, HL-60 cells are used to propagate the pathogen in vitro (27, 28). Kifunensine and benzyl-GalNAc inhibited, respectively, binding of PHA-L and CHO-131 to HL-60 cells (Fig. 9, A and B), and each partially inhibited binding of HECA-452 (Fig. 9C) and A. phagocytophilum (Fig. 9D). Thus, A. phagocytophilum uses fucosylated N- and O-glycans to interact with human myeloid cells or transfected cells expressing human PSGL-1.
A. phagocytophilum Binds to Microspheres Coupled Independently with PSGL-1-derived Glycopeptide Lacking sLex and with sLex Lacking PeptideHuman PSGL-1 has many O-glycans and up to three N-glycans (4649). A. phagocytophilum binds to intact cells expressing PSGL-1 without an O-glycan at Thr-16. However, this observation does not distinguish whether the pathogen must bind to N- or O-glycans on PSGL-1 or whether it might bind to the peptide component of PSGL-1 in cooperation with N- or O-glycans on other cell surface proteins. To determine whether bacterial recognition requires that sLex be presented on the PSGL-1 N-terminal peptide we coupled 2-GP-6, 2-GP-1, sLex, or both sLex and 2-GP-1 to microspheres at low and high densities. Peptide and sLex densities were matched as measured by PL1 binding (Fig. 10, A and E) and HECA-452 binding (Fig. 10, B and F), respectively. At the densities studied, A. phagocytophilum did not bind to microspheres bearing either 2-GP-1 or sLex. In contrast, the bacteria bound in a PL1-inhibitable manner to microspheres bearing 2-GP-6 or 2-GP-1 plus sLex (Fig. 10, C, D, G, and H). At high densities, the degree of bacterial binding to microspheres coupled with 2-GP-1 plus sLex approached that to microspheres coupled with 2-GP-6 (Fig. 10G). These results demonstrate that A. phagocytophilum binds cooperatively to PSGL-1 peptide lacking sLex and to peptide lacking sLex that are independently coupled to the same microsphere. This suggests that the pathogen might bind to cells through cooperative interactions with the N terminus of PSGL-1 and with sLex-capped N- or O-glycans on other cell-surface proteins.
The pathogen A. phagocytophilum employs some features that P-selectin uses to bind to neutrophils (25). The dependence of bacterial binding on expression of both human PSGL-1 and an 13-fucosyltransferase has been interpreted to indicate that A. phagocytophilum binds to fucosylated PSGL-1 (26). The ability of mAbs to the N-terminal region of human PSGL-1 to inhibit bacterial binding is consistent with a model in which A. phagocytophilum binds to the same N-terminal region of PSGL-1 recognized by P-selectin. This model is also supported by the dependence of bacterial binding on expression of 13-fucosyltransferases in murine neutrophils (27). However, A. phagocytophilum binds readily to PSGL-1-deficient murine neutrophils, suggesting more complex models for bacterial binding to neutrophils (27). Here we have further defined the molecular features that A. phagocytophilum recognizes. These features overlap but are clearly distinct from those that P-selectin uses to bind to human and murine neutrophils. All published studies of A. phagocytophilum binding or infection employ intact bacteria. We measured binding of fixed bacteria to ligand-coupled microspheres or to cells. This allowed determination of requirements for binding independent of signaling or other events that might regulate bacterial internalization or viability within cells. It is important to note that this assay involves multivalent adhesion of one particle (fixed bacteria) to another particle (microsphere or cell). We coupled molecularly defined ligands to the microspheres or used cells with at least partially characterized cell surface structures. However, the adhesin or adhesins on A. phagocytophilum that mediate adhesion are unknown. Thus, interpretations of these binding data and previous binding data must include the possibility that A. phagocytophilum uses more than one adhesin to interact with the target particle and that target cells display more than one ligand. The bacterial binding assay differs from assays that measure binding of purified P-selectin to defined glycoconjugates, as well as to cell surfaces.
Studies with microspheres demonstrated that A. phagocytophilum bound to purified human PSGL-1 or to a small glycosulfopeptide modeled after the extreme N-terminal region of mature human PSGL-1 that binds to P-selectin. Therefore adhesion does not need additional cell surface molecules, and initial examination suggests that the same region of PSGL-1 that binds to P-selectin also binds to A. phagocytophilum. Consistent with this notion, bacterial adhesion required sialylation and The adhesion of A. phagocytophilum to microspheres that presented sLex and a human PSGL-1-derived peptide in different orientations suggests that the bacteria might also recognize sLex presented at different positions on PSGL-1-expressing cells. Our studies with HL-60 cells and transfected CHO cells confirm this interpretation. A. phagocytophilum bound to transfected cells expressing T16A PSGL-1, demonstrating that bacterial adhesion, unlike P-selectin binding, does not require an O-glycan at Thr-16 of PSGL-1. Inhibitors of N- or O-glycosylation revealed that A. phagocytophilum bound to PSGL-1 in cooperation with sLex presented on both N- and O-glycans. It is formally possible that that these glycans must be on PSGL-1, which is both N- and O-glycosylated (46, 47, 50). However, it seems likely that bacterial adhesion to neutrophils or transfected cells involves cooperative interactions with the N-terminal peptide sequence of human PSGL-1 and with N- and/or O-glycans on both PSGL-1 and other glycoproteins. The moderately diminished bacterial adhesion to cells expressing T16A PSGL-1 suggests that sLex presented on an O-glycan at this residue may be a favored but not exclusive interaction site.
It is conceivable that A. phagocytophilum expresses a single adhesin with separate binding sites for the N-terminal peptide of human PSGL-1 and for sLex or related glycans. This adhesin might simultaneously bind to peptide and sLex on the same PSGL-1 molecule. However, the ability of bacteria to adhere to microspheres or cells presenting PSGL-1 and sLex in different orientations suggests that even a single adhesin might bind to peptide on one PSGL-1 molecule and to sLex on another PSGL-1 molecule or on a different glycoprotein. It is equally conceivable that one adhesin binds to the PSGL-1 peptide and that a molecularly distinct adhesin binds to sLex. Indeed the available data do not exclude the possibility that different adhesins recognize, respectively, sialic acid and
* This work was supported in part by National Institutes of Health Grants HL 65631 (to R. P. M.), AI 48075 (to R. D. C.), AI 041440 and AI 054630 (to E. F.), and AI 10554 (to J. A. C.) and by the Burroughs Welcome Fund (to E. F.). The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
|| Present address: Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Rockville, MD 20852. ** To whom correspondence should be addressed: Cardiovascular Biology Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, 825 N. E. 13th St., Oklahoma City, OK 73104. Tel.: 405-271-6480; Fax: 405-271-3137; E-mail: rodger-mcever{at}omrf.ouhsc.edu.
1 The abbreviations used are: sLex, sialyl Lewis x; core2GlcNAcT, core-2
We thank Drs. Bruce Walcheck and Dietmar Vestweber for gifts of mAbs.
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