Secreted and membrane bound proteins from Echinococcus: possible roles in parasite survival and potential as targets for the control of hydatid disease

ROSENZVIT MC; CAMICIA F; GUTIERREZ AM; NAIDICH A; MUZULIN PM; CUCHER M

Advances in Hydatid Disease Diagnosis and Treatment

PMP Medical Publications

Lugar: Atenas, Grecia; Año: 2008;

E. granulosus and E. multilocularis, the most characterized species of the genus, are cestode parasites whose larval stages (metacestodes) cause cystic (CE) and alveolar echinococcosis (AE) respectively, being able to live for long periods of time in their mammal hosts. It is predicted that S/M proteins could play a pivotal role in this long-term survival as well as in the invasion phase. A number of S/M proteins have been reported for Echinococcus and a role in establishment and survival has been proposed for some of them. Functional information is available only for a few of these molecules, nevertheless some are already being used or evaluated as diagnosis or immunoprofilaxis targets in order to improve the control of hydatid disease. Among the S/M proteins isolated in Echinococcus, there are antigens considered as vaccine or diagnostic candidates, putative immunomodulatory molecules, receptors and ligands involved in differentiation and growth, proteolitic enzymes and metabolites transporters. A brief description of the main characteristics of some of these molecules is included in this chapter.