title: Identification and characterization of a cathepsin L-like cysteine protease from Taenia solium metacestode.
abstract: Taenia solium metacestode, a larval pork tapeworm, is a causative agent of neurocysticercosis, one of the most common parasitic diseases in the human central nervous system. In this study, we identified a cDNA encoding for a cathepsin L-like cysteine protease from the T. solium metacestode (TsCL-1) and characterized the biochemical properties of the recombinant enzyme. The cloned cDNA of 1216 bp encoded 339 amino acids with an approximate molecular weight of 37.6 kDa which containing a typical signal peptide sequence (17 amino acids), a pro-domain (106 amino acids), and a mature domain (216 amino acids). Sequence alignments of TsCL-1 showed low sequence similarity of 27.3-44.6 to cathepsin L-like cysteine proteases from other helminth parasites, but the similarity was increased to 35.9-55.0 when compared to mature domains. The bacterially expressed recombinant protein (rTsCL-1) did not show enzyme activity; however, the rTsCL-1 expressed in Pichia pastoris showed typical biochemical characteristics of cysteine proteases. It degraded human immunoglobulin G (IgG) and bovine serum albumin (BSA), but not collagen. Western blot analysis of the rTsCL-1 showed antigenicity against the sera from patients with cysticercosis, sparganosis or fascioliasis, but weak or no antigenicity against the sera from patients with paragonimiasis or clonorchiasis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Malaria and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Health, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Seoul 122-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ai Hua
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Sung-Ung
authors.initials: SU
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Yun-Kyu
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Byoung-Kuk
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Na
authors.forename: Myung-Gi
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Chang-Mi
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Shin-Hyeong
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Yoon
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: Tong-Soo
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Pyung-Rim
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D056668:Cathepsin L; D002403:Cathepsins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism*; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000378:metabolism; D008967:Molecular Biology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013045:Species Specificity; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D041201:Taenia solium / Q000201:enzymology*
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D018509:DNA, Helminth; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D002403:Cathepsins; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases; C534281:CTSL protein, human; D056668:Cathepsin L