Function of lipid binding proteins of parasitic helminths: still a long road

LOMBARDO, JOSE F.; PÓRFIDO, JORGE L.; SISTI, MARTÍN S.; GIORELLO, A. NAHILI; RODRÍGUEZ, SANTIAGO; CÓRSICO, BETINA; FRANCHINI, GISELA R.

PARASITOLOGY RESEARCH

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2022

0932-0113

Infections with parasitic helminths cause severe debilitating and sometimes lethal diseases in humans and domestic animalson a global scale. Unable to synthesize de novo their own fatty acids and sterols, helminth parasites (nematodes, trematodes,cestodes) rely on their hosts for their supply. These organisms produce and secrete a wide range of lipid binding proteinsthat are, in most cases, structurally diferent from the ones found in their hosts, placing them as possible novel therapeutictargets. In this sense, a lot of efort has been made towards the structure determination of these proteins, but their precisefunction is still unknown. In this review, we aim to present the current knowledge on the functions of LBPs present in parasitic helminths as well as novel members of this highly heterogeneous group of proteins.