EXTRACELLULAR-MATRIX - A TOOL FOR DEFINING THE EXTRACORPOREAL FUNCTION OF PARASITE PROTEASES

Citation
Ml. Rhoads et Rh. Fetterer, EXTRACELLULAR-MATRIX - A TOOL FOR DEFINING THE EXTRACORPOREAL FUNCTION OF PARASITE PROTEASES, Parasitology today, 13(3), 1997, pp. 119-122
Citations number
30
Categorie Soggetti
Parasitiology
Journal title
ISSN journal
01694758
Volume
13
Issue
3
Year of publication
1997
Pages
119 - 122
Database
ISI
SICI code
0169-4758(1997)13:3<119:E-ATFD>2.0.ZU;2-4
Abstract
The significance of cysteine protease activity present in excretory/se cretory products of the feeding stages of Haemonchus contortus is disc ussed here by Marcia Rhoads and Raymond Fetterer. Based, in part, on t he in vitro degradation and uptake of extracellular matrix components by live parasites, they argue that the cysteine proteases have an esse ntial extracorporeal function in the digestion of host tissues. They a lso outline the merits of the extracellular matrix model, which mimics the in vivo structure of connective tissue and basement membranes, in analyzing host-parasite interactions and (possibly) parasite developm ental processes.