[Progress in researches of molecular mechanism of schistosome cercariae infection].

Schistosome cercariae must penetrate skin as an initial step to successfully infect the final host. Proteolytic enzymes secreted from the acetabular glands of cercariae contribute significantly to the invasion process. Nowadays, the researches of molecular mechanism of schistosome infection mainly focus on the cercarial secretions including serine protease and cysteine protease. Previous researches already showed that Schistosoma mansoni penetrates the skin mainly depend on cercarial elastease secreted by cercariae while Schistosoma japonicum penetrates the skin chiefly by cathepsin B2. The illustration of molecular mechanism of schistosome cecariae infection will accelerate the identification of novel vaccines and drug targets.