Structural Characterization of Proteins Coded by Genes of Micro-Exon (MEG) Schistosoma mansoni: MEG 5 and MEG 8.2.

Abstract

The helminth Schistosoma mansoni is one of the causative agents of Schistosomiasis, a disease that affects 210 million people in 76 countries, only in Brazil are affected 6 million. It is believed that infection is successful due to modulation of the immune system through host of protein secreted by the parasite. Praziquantel is only one drug presently used for treatment of schistosomiasis, but it does not prevent reinfection and there are concerns about development of drug resistance. Therefore, it is very important the studyof new targets for the development of new drugs and vaccines importance for the control of disease. One class of secreted proteins,which are exposed to the human immune system, are derived from micro-exon genes (MEGs). They were found by proteomic assays in secretions of schistosomula and egg of parasite. In this context, aim of this projectis production of two proteins coded by MEGs in heterologous system and characterize the structure of these proteins using techniques such as Circular Dichroism (CD), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and mass spectrometry. In addition we will perform two-hybrid assay in human cDNA libraries to find human proteins partners for one of these proteins .