Partial purification and immunohistochemical localization of ATP diphosphohydrolase from Schistosoma mansoni: Immunological cross-reactivities with potato apyrase and Toxoplasma gondii nucleoside triphosphate hydrolase

Abstract

ATP diphosphohydrolase from tegumental membranes of Schistosoma mansoni was solubilized with Triton X-100 plus deoxycholate and separated by preparative nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Two isoforms with ATP-hydrolytic activity were identified and excised from nondenaturing gels. For each of the active bands, two protein bands (63 and 55 kDa) were detected with Coomassie Blue staining, following sodium dodecyl sulfate- polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Western blots developed with polyclonal anti-potato apyrase antibody revealed a single protein of 63 kDa, either with samples excised from active bands or with total S. mansoni tegument. Anti- potato apyrase antibody immobilized on Sepbarose-Protein A depleted over 95% of ATPase and ADPase activities from detergent-solubilized tegument. Confocal laser scanning microscopy showed anti-potato apyrase antibody on the outer surface of S. mansoni tegument. A different antibody against a fusion protein derived from recently c