Nippocystatin, a cysteine protease inhibitor from Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, inhibits antigen processing and modulates antigen-specific immune response.

ABSTRACT: During infection, parasites evade the host immune system by modulating or exploiting the immune system; e.g., they suppress expression of major histocompatibility complex class II molecules or secrete cytokine-like molecules. However, it is not clear whether helminths disturb the immune responses of their hosts by controlling the antigen-processing pathways of the hosts. In this study, we identified a new cysteine protease inhibitor, nippocystatin, derived from excretory-secretory (ES) products of an intestinal nematode, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis. Nippocystatin, which belongs to cystatin family 2, consists of 144 amino acids and is secreted as a 14-kDa mature form. In vivo treatment of ovalbumin (OVA)-immunized mice with recombinant nippocystatin (rNbCys) profoundly suppressed OVA-speci

SUBMITTER: Dainichi T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC98825 | biostudies-literature | 2001 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature