Proteolytic enzymes and their inhibitors in cestodes

Abstract

The review summarizes the available published data on proteases and their inhibitors in cestodes. The intricate physiological relationships between a parasite and its host are confirmed by the ability of cestodes to produce their own proteolytic enzymes or to adsorb and utilize host proteases, on the one hand, and to secrete inhibitors of these enzymes, on the other. It is likely that the protease inhibitors primarily confront the host immune response in larval cestodes versus adult worms, living in the vertebrate intestine, where they mainly protect the parasites from hydrolysis by intestinal proteinases. In addition, the presence of the parasite in the intestine often entails changes in the activity of host proteolytic enzymes.