Figure 5. C. canimorsus desialylates macrophage and epithelial cell surfaces.

(A) The targets of the lectins used in this study are schematically represented (adapted from [44]). Surface carbohydrates of J774.1 macrophages (B) or HeLa epithelial cells (C) were analyzed by lectin binding after 2 h of infection with 4×10⁷ wt (Cc5) or siaC bacteria. Cells were fixed with paraformaldehyde and incubated for 1 h with lectin SNA, which recognizes terminal sialic acids (2- 6 or 2- 3) linked to Gal or to GalNAc or PNA that binds to the disaccharide Gal 1–3 GalNAc only after removal of terminal sialic acids. SiaC was added to cells alone or with siaC bacteria at 100 ng/ml. Biotinylated lectins were visualized by FITC conjugated streptavidin.