The creation of a recombinant single-chain antibody against α/β-hydrolase of microsporidium Paranosema locustae and immunolocalization of the enzyme in an infected host cell

Microsporidia are a group of widespread fungi-related obligate intracellular parasites. Direct contact of most microsporidia with the cytoplasm of an infected host cell entails possible secretion of various proteins from the parasite that allows control physiological processes of the host. Earlier, by means of polyclonal antibodies against α/β-hydrolase of microsporidium Paranosema locustae, the secretion of large amounts of the enzyme into the cytoplasm of fat body cells of infected migratory locust Locusta migratoria was demonstrated. However, yeast fungi Pichia pastoris did not recognize this enzyme as a secretory one during its heterologous expression. In the present study, a library of recombinant single-chain antibodies (scFv fragments) against proteins of the infected fat body of locust was constructed. The use of the phage display technology enabled choosing a miniantibody that specifically recognized the studied enzyme. Immunoblotting and immunolabeling of frozen sections of locust fat body with the selected scFv fragment confirmed the fact of secretion of P. locustae α/β-hydrolase (as two forms of different size) into the infected host cell. Prospects of using the selected scFv fragment for further studies of the secretion mechanism of the parasite’s protein and its role in host–parasite interactions are discussed.