Espinoza B, Tarrab-Hazdai R, Himmeloch S, Arnon R
Department of Chemical Immunology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Immunol Lett. 1991 May;28(2):167-74. doi: 10.1016/0165-2478(91)90116-r.
The enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is present in the trematode Schistosoma mansoni, which infects humans and causes a severe disease called schistosomiasis or Bilharzia. We have purified this enzyme and raised polyclonal antibodies against it. The specificity of these antibodies against the schistosome enzyme was demonstrated by their capacity to precipitate exclusively AChE activity from cercariae extract and to recognize the 8S molecular form of the parasite's AChE. On the other hand, they did not cross-react at all with AChE from human erythrocytes. By employing immunogold electron microscopy, AChE was located on the surface, in the membranal bodies of the tegument and in the muscles of schistosomula. The antibodies raised against the purified AChE of S. mansoni are of protective value, as they led to efficient complement-mediated killing of schistosomula in vitro. It was also demonstrated that antibodies specific towards S. mansoni AChE are present in the sera of mice and of human patients infected with the parasite, suggesting that this enzyme partakes in the immune response towards the parasite during infection. These cumulative data, particularly the schistosomicidal activity of the antibodies and their lack of cross-reactivity with human AChE, are of significance in the consideration of the S. mansoni AChE for vaccination purposes.
酶乙酰胆碱酯酶（AChE）存在于曼氏血吸虫中，这种吸虫会感染人类并引发一种名为血吸虫病或裂体吸虫病的严重疾病。我们已纯化了这种酶并制备了针对它的多克隆抗体。这些抗体针对血吸虫酶的特异性通过以下能力得以证明：它们能够仅从尾蚴提取物中沉淀AChE活性，并识别寄生虫AChE的8S分子形式。另一方面，它们与人类红细胞中的AChE完全没有交叉反应。通过免疫金电子显微镜观察，AChE定位于血吸虫幼虫的表面、皮层的膜状小体以及肌肉中。针对曼氏血吸虫纯化AChE产生的抗体具有保护作用，因为它们在体外能导致补体介导的血吸虫幼虫高效杀伤。还证明了感染该寄生虫的小鼠和人类患者血清中存在针对曼氏血吸虫AChE的特异性抗体，这表明这种酶在感染期间参与了针对该寄生虫的免疫反应。这些累积数据，特别是抗体的杀血吸虫活性以及它们与人类AChE缺乏交叉反应，对于考虑将曼氏血吸虫AChE用于疫苗接种目的具有重要意义。
