Entamoeba histolytica Contains an Occludin-Like Protein That Can Alter Colonic Epithelial Barrier Function
Figure 4
E. histolytica occludin-like protein impairs T84 epithelial barrier integrity.
(a) Depletion of 55 KDa proteins from SAP by immunoprecipitation using a human occludin C-terminus antibody. Note that the 55 kDa band in the supernatant following immunoprecipitation was decreased (red arrow). (b) T84 monolayers on transwells were treated with either 20 µg soluble amebic protein (Eh SAP) or 20 µg of SAP depleted of occludin-like protein (Eh IP Supernatant) and compared to the control (T84 monolayer treated with HBSS). The un-normalized baseline mean (of three replicates) TER at the start of the experiment were 4276 Ω·cm2 for Eh SAP, 3840 Ω·cm2 for Eh IP Supernatant and 3993 Ω·cm2 for controls. Control isotype IgG had no effect on TER. Stars represent statistical significance between the Eh SAP and Eh IP supernatant (*P<0.05; ** P<0.01; ***P<0.001). This experiment was repeated twice with similar results.