芽囊原虫半胱氨酸蛋白酶的研究进展

Advances in the research of cysteine proteinases from Blastocystis

大多数致病性原虫都具有丰富的半胱氨酸蛋白酶,这些酶具有的重要生物学功能,涉及多个生物事件。包括营养代谢、脱囊/成囊、宿主组织/细胞入侵、免疫逃避、致病性、毒力,是免疫诊断、疫苗研制和药物筛选的理想分子,是许多寄生虫病研究的热点。近年来研究发现芽囊原虫具有半胱氨酸蛋白酶,且认为半胱氨酸蛋白酶是芽囊原虫的毒力因子。因此,本文从芽囊原虫半胱氨酸蛋白酶的种类、活性、表达以及毒力等方面的研究进行综述。

Cysteine proteases exist in most pathogenic protozoa and many of them have been shown to have vital roles or be involved in disease processes,which include nutrient metabolism,desquamation/encapsulation,invasion of host tissues/cells,immune evasion,pathogenicity,and toxicity. Cysteine protease is an ideal molecule for immunodiagnosis,vaccine development and drug screening,and is a hot topic in many studies in parasitic diseases. Blastocystis is an anaerobic parasite in human and animal intestine,and is the most common eukaryotic single-celled parasite in human stool samples. Many studies suggest that cysteine proteases are the causative agents of Blastocystis. In recent years,it has been found that there is cysteine protease in Blastocystis and it is the virulence factor of Blastocystis. The progress on the classification,activity,expression and virulence of the cysteine proteases in Blastocystis is reviewed in this paper.