What can egg-proteases tell us about the pathogenesis caused by trematodes?
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| Year of publication | 2019 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | Eggs released by female schistosomes are considered to be the primary cause of symptoms connected with schistosomiasis. Discharge of molecules (mainly proteases) by eggs facilitate their migration through the tissue of the host. Nevertheless, as a side-effect they cause severe pathogenesis manifested by inflammation, granuloma formation and subsequent fibrosis of the tissue. The eggs of Fasciola hepatica, trematode which inhabits the bile ducts of number of ruminants and other vertebrate species, are not supposed to have such detrimental effects on its host although the eggs related proteolytic activity was recorded. The detailed protein composition of F. hepaticaeggs ´ products remains unrevealed. Comparison of proteins from the excretory-secretory products of eggs from highly pathogenic vs. non-pathogenic species could represent a step towards better understanding of biology of F. hepatica, pathogenesis associated with S. mansoni infections and thus contribute to effective drug treatment. In our newly launched scientific project we aim to compare proteolytic cocktails present in E/S products ofS.mansoniand F. hepatica eggs. We focus particularly on the identification of proteases by functional proteomics, evaluation of their physiological role by genomic studies, and their recombinant expression and biochemical characterization. |
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