Giardia Cysteine Proteases: The Teeth behind the Smile.

Giardia Cysteine Proteases: The Teeth behind the Smile. Trends Parasitol. 2019 Jul 03;: Authors: Allain T, Fekete E, Buret AG Abstract Giardia duodenalis is one of the most prevalent human enteropathogens and a major cause of diarrheal disease worldwide. Cysteine proteases (CPs) have been identified as major virulence factors in protozoan parasites, playing important roles in disease pathogenesis and in parasitic life cycles. G. duodenalis exhibits high proteolytic activity, and CPs play significant roles in giardiasis. Giardia CPs are directly involved in intestinal epithelial junctional complex disruption, intestinal epithelial cell apoptosis, and degradation of host immune factors, including chemokines and immunoglobulins. Giardia CPs have also been implicated in mucus depletion and microbiota dysbiosis induced by the parasite. This review discusses the most recent advances in characterization of Giardia Assemblage A and B CPs, including cathepsin B (catB)-like proteases. PMID: 31279655 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Trends in Parasitology - Category: Parasitology Authors: Tags: Trends Parasitol Source Type: research