THE EFFECTS OF ENTAMOEBA-HISTOLYTICA LYSATES ON HUMAN COLONIC MUCINS

Detergent lysates of Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites contained high levels of beta-N acetyl-D-glucosaminidase, beta-N acetyl-D-galactosam inidase and cc-D-galactosidase activity, and lower but significant lev els of five other glycosidases. Although these activities should have been capable of largely degrading the oligosaccharide side-chains of h uman colonic mucin, in fact only about one third of high MW mucin was degraded in 72 h and trypsin alone produced a similar effect. There wa s no evidence that these glycosidases were excreted and we conclude th at they are unlikely to represent significant virulence factors for E. hislolytica.