The presence and distribution of surface carbohydrates in the tissues of
Galba truncatula snails uninfected or
after infection with
Fasciola hepatica
as well as on the surface of the snail-pathogenic larval stages of the parasite
were studied by lectin labelling assay. This is an attempt to find similarities that indicate possible mimicry, utilised
by the parasite as an evasion strategy in this snail-trematode system. Different binding patterns were identified on
head-foot-mantle, hepatopancreas, genital glands, renopericardial complex of the host as well as of the snail-pathogenic
larval stages of
F. hepatica. The infection with
F. hepatica leads to changes of labelling with
Glycine max
in
the head-mantle cells and
Arachis hypogaea
in the tubular epithelium of the hepatopancreas. The lectin binding on
the other snail tissues is not changed by the development of the larvae. Our data clearly demonstrated the similarity
in labelling of
G. truncatula tissues and the surface of the snail-pathogenic larval stages of
F. hepatica. The role of
glycosylation of the contact surfaces of both organisms in relation to the host-parasite interactions is also discussed.
