O-glycomics of parasitic nematodes As. suum and Ac. viteae

Ascaris suum and Acanthocheilonema viteae are two common models of parasitic nematodes to study human ascariasis and filariasis, respectively. Glycoconjugates from parasitic nematodes are believed to play a vital role in parasite infection, survival and immunomodulation of animal host. N-linked glycan and glycolipids possess unusual modifications restricted to parasitic nematodes and cestodes, such as phosphorylcholine (PC). However, little is known about O-glycan structure in parasitic nematodes in comparison with the free-living nematode, C. elegans. The study of O-linked oligosaccharides from C. elegans and our preliminary result indicate that nematodes also have unusual structures and some of them may be conserved. This study aims at investigating O-glycan profiles of As. suum and Ac. viteae by LC-MS/MSn and revealing conserved and species-specific O-glycan in these two nematodes. With the aid of proteomic analysis, glycoproteins can also be identified. The identification of the O-glycan profile and corresponding O-glycoproteins of parasitic nematodes will be of interest for the knowledge of host-parasite interactions and pathogenic determinants.