Juan José Cazzulo
Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of the American Trypanosomiasis, Chagas Disease, contains cysteine, serine, threonine and metallo proteinases. Aspartic proteinases have not been found so far. The most abundant among these enzymes is cruzipain, a cysteine proteinase expressed as a complex mixture of isoforms by the major developmental stages of the parasite, including some membrane-bound isoforms. The enzyme is an immunodominant antigen in human chronic Chagas disease and seems to be important in the host/parasite relationship...
November 2002: Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry