Role of cytoskeleton and surface lectins in Giardia duodenalis attachment to Caco2 cells.

An in vitro model of Giardia duodenalis and the Caco2 cell line enable the study of parameters that could play a part in trophozoite attachment. We explored the role of membranous lectins of G. duodenalis in attachment-inhibition studies using carbohydrates in solution. Attachment rates were reduced by 14% and 23% in the presence of 100 mmol/l mannose-6-phosphate and glucose, respectively, as compared with control values. No significant modification was observed after trophozoite trypsinization at room temperature or at 37 degrees C. The inhibitory effects of colchicine (35%) and nocodazole (70%) suggest a primordial role of the cytoskeleton; microtubules appear to be the principal effectors of trophozoite fixation. Scanning electron microscopy revealed circular imprints on the Caco2 brush border after trophozoite detachment. The mechanisms of attachment of G. duodenalis to intestinal enterocyte-like cells in culture are thus essentially of the mechanical or hydrodynamic type; surface lectins would appear to intervene in the specificity for duodenal cells.