Glycosylation of the major human Pneumocystis carinii surface antigen.

It has recently been shown that the major rat P. carinii surface antigen is important for initial host-organism attachment, possibly through binding to fibronectin, mannose-binding protein, or surfactant protein A. Since a carbohydrate/lectin interaction may be involved in adhesion, we undertook this study to characterize the glycosylation of the major human P. carinii surface glycoprotein (gp95). We have used purified gp95 as a source of antigen, and in lectin binding and deglycosylation studies it was found that approximately 9% of gp95 consists of N-linked carbohydrates of mainly high-mannose and bisected complex-type glycans. Using a polyclonal antibody raised against purified gp95 and crossed affinoimmunoelectrophoresis and the lectins Con A and WGA, gp95 exhibited carbohydrate-dependent microheterogeneity. We therefore suggest that gp95 is composed of subtypes which differ in N-linked glycosylation.