Characterization of a cysteine proteinase from adult worms of Paragonimus westermani.

Paragonimus westermani, the lung fluke, is known to migrate to the pulmonary tissue of mammalian hosts and causes pathological changes in the lungs. An acidic thiol-dependent proteinase with a molecular weight of approximately 20,000 daltons was purified to homogeneity using ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration chromatography. On SDS-PAGE, the molecular weight of the enzyme was 17,500 daltons. Isoelectric point was 6.45. The enzyme was similar to the acidic cysteine proteinase of vertebrates in the properties of pH 5.5 for at least two days when stored at 4 degrees C. The cysteine proteinase was capable of degrading collagen and hemoglobin. Sera of patients with paragonimiasis and mice infected with P. westermani reacted in immunoblots with the partially purified proteinase. This result suggested that the cysteine proteinase of P. westermani may play a role in migration in tissues, and in acquisition of nutrients by parasites from the host. It is also potentially an antigen for the serodiagnosis of paragonimiasis.