Schistosoma mansoni: Chemoreception through n-acetyl-d-galactosamine-containing receptors in females offers insight into increased severity of schistosomiasis in individuals with blood group A

The role of exposed surface carbohydrates in chemoreception in Schistosoma mansoni females was investigated in vitro. Sexually mature females were treated with peanut (PNA), soybean (SBA) or wheat germ (WGA) agglutinin, and their migration in response to excretory-secretory (ES) products of males was measured in a bioassay system. Random distribution of untreated and lectin-treated females was similar (p = >0.05). PNA-treated females were unresponsive for 1.0 h, after which they exhibited slight repulsion to ES products. SBA-treated females did not respond to ES products for 3.0 h. WGA-treated females were unresponsive for 1.5 h, after which they exhibited slight attraction to male ES products. Attempts were made to restore chemoattraction by using specific sugar inhibitors of lectin-binding; chemoattraction was best restored in n-acetyl-d-galactosamine (GalNAc)-treated females. These data suggest that GalNAc-containing receptors, possibly GP50, the major SBA-binding schistosome glycan, mediate chemoreception in schistosome females. These findings may explain the observed differences in morbidity between individuals with different blood groups. Individuals with blood group B or O may afford partial protection because of their natural anti-A or by mounting a more efficient antibody response directed against GalNAc-containing structures shared by blood group A red blood cells.