Abstract
Neglected tropical diseases caused by metazoan parasites are major public health concerns, and therefore, new methods for their control and elimination are needed. Research over the last 25 years has revealed the vital contribution of cysteine proteases to invasion of and migration by (larval) helminth parasites through host tissues, in addition to their roles in embryogenesis, molting, egg hatching, and yolk degradation. Their central function to maintaining parasite survival in the host has made them prime intervention targets for novel drugs and vaccines. This review focuses on those helminth cysteine proteases that have been functionally characterized during the varied early stages of development in the human host and embryogenesis.
Highlights
Using the fluorogenic peptide substrate Z-Phe-Arg-AMC, most cysteine proteolytic activity was found in the metacercariae, followed by the excretory–secretory products (ESP), egg, and adult worms
Elevated expression of these cathepsin L (CPL)-like proteases in the metacercariae suggests that they may play a role in larval excystation during mammalian infection [17]
Analysis of the O. volvulus transcriptome during the parasite life cycle (PRJEB2965) revealed significant differences in the expression of the CPL and cathepsin Z-like (CPZ) proteases, i.e., a marked up-regulation in the vector-derived L2 stage compared to L3 (Fig 1A) [44]
Summary
Citation: Grote A, Caffrey CR, Rebello KM, Smith D, Dalton JP, Lustigman S (2018) Cysteine proteases during larval migration and development of helminths in their final host. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 12(8): e0005919. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pntd.0005919 Editor: Jennifer Keiser, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, SWITZERLAND Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
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