Binding of Vibrio anguillarum to neutral glycosphingolipids from intestinal mucosa of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

To test whether glycosphingolipids (GSLs) on the intestinal mucosa of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) serve as a binding receptor for Vibrio anguillarum, we analyzed neutral GSLs from rainbow trout intestinal mucosa and investigated the binding of bacteria to neutral GSLs. Two kinds of neutral GSLs, designated N-1 and N-2, were identified on high-performance thin-layer chromatography (TLC) plates. In TLC immunostaining tests, V. anguillarum bound only to galactosylceramide (GalCer), lactosylceramide and N-1 having the same TLC mobility as GalCer, but neither to glucosylceramide nor to N-2. These results suggest that N-1 is GalCer (Gal beta 1-1Cer) and also that N-1 (GalCer) on rainbow trout intestinal mucosa act as a receptor for V. anguillarum.