Mb. Hildreth et al., EFFECT OF TUNICAMYCIN ON THE UPTAKE AND INCORPORATION OF GALACTOSE INHYMENOLEPIS-DIMINUTA, The Journal of parasitology, 83(4), 1997, pp. 555-558
The effects of tunicamycin (TM) on the uptake and incorporation of tri
tiated galactose into the tegumental membrane and carcass from adult H
ymenolepis diminuta were examined to assess the potential usefulness o
f this inhibitor for studying the function of the tapeworm surface gly
cocalyx. Hymenolepis diminuta adults (11 days old) were preincubated f
or 1 hr, pulsed for 30 min with [H-3]galactose and [C-14]leucine, and
chased for 2 hr; replicate experiments were conducted in which all med
ia contained no TM or TM at 10 mu g/ml. Tunicamycin significantly inhi
bited the incorporation of tritiated galactose into the tapeworm's car
cass and 30,000-g tegumental membrane fraction. Incorporation of triti
ated galactose into the tapeworm's tegumental surface membrane also wa
s inhibited significantly when expressed relative to the incorporation
of [C-14]leucine. Tunicamycin did not affect the amounts of free, i.e
., soluble, [H-3]galactose or [C-14]leucine recovered from the tapewor
ms nor did it affect the short-term (2 min) uptake of [H-3]galactose b
y tapeworms. Thus, the inhibitory effect of TM appears to be al the le
vel of protein glycosylation rather than carbohydrate (galactose) tran
sport. The data indicate that TM might be useful for producing tapewor
m surface membranes with diminished carbohydrate moieties.