Sommer Alexandra, Rickert Rainer, Fischer Peter, Steinhart Hans, Walter Rolf D, Liebau Eva
Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, 20359 Hamburg, Germany.
Infect Immun. 2003 Jun;71(6):3603-6. doi: 10.1128/IAI.71.6.3603-3606.2003.
The extracellular glutathione S-transferase from the filarial parasite Onchocerca volvulus (Ov-GST1) is a glutathione-dependent prostaglandin D synthase. Ov-GST1, located in the outer hypodermal lamellae and in parts of the cuticle, produces prostaglandin D(2) directly at the parasite-host interface. Ov-GST1 therefore has the potential to participate in the modulation of the host immune response by contributing to the production of prostanoids; this supports the predominant hypothesis that parasite-derived eicosanoids influence host inflammatory and immune cells.