Proteinases and Associated Genes of Parasitic Helminths

Abstract

Many parasites have deployed proteinases to accomplish some of the tasks imposed by a parasitic life style, including tissue penetration, digestion of host tissue for nutrition and evasion of host immune responses. Information on proteinases from trematodes, cestodes and nematode parasites is reviewed, concentrating on those worms of major medical and economical importance. Their biochemical characterization is discussed, along with their putative biological roles and, where available, their associated genes. For example, proteinases expressed by the various stages of the schistosome life-cycle, in particular the well-characterized cercarial elastase which is involved in the penetration of the host skin and the variety of proteinases, such as cathepsin B (Sm31), cathepsin L1, cathepsin L2, cathepsin D, cathepsin C and legumain (Sm32), which are believed to be involved in the catabolism of host haemoglobin. The various endo- and exoproteinases of Fasciola hepatica, the causative agent of liver fluke disease, are reviewed, and recent reports of how these enzymes have been successfully employed in cocktail vaccines are discussed. The various proteinases of cestodes and of the diverse superfamilies of parasitic nematodes are detailed, with special attention being given to those parasites for which most is known, including species of Taenia, Echinococcus, Spirometra, Necator, Acylostoma and Haemonchus. By far the largest number of papers in the literature and entries to the sequence data bases dealing with proteinases of parasitic helminths report on enzymes belonging to the papain superfamily of cysteine proteinases. Accordingly, the final section of the review is devoted to a phylogenetic analysis of this superfamily using over 150 published sequences. This analysis shows that the papain superfamily can be divided into two major branches. Branch A contains the cathepin Bs, the cathepsin Cs and a novel family termed cathepsin Xs, while Branch B contains the cruzipains, cathepsin Ls, papain-like and aleurain/cathepsin H-like proteinases. The relationships of the helminth proteinases, and similar proteinases from protozoan parasites and other organisms, within these groups are discussed.