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The metacestode larval stage of Taenia solium is the causal agent of a zoonotic disease called cysticercosis. The disease has an important impact on pork trade (due to porcine cysticercosis) and public health (due to human neurocysticercosis). In order to improve the current diagnostic tools and to get a better understanding of the interaction between T. solium metacestodes and their host, there is a need for more information about the proteins that are released by the parasite. In this study, we used protein sequences from different helminths, 1DE, reversed-phase LC, and MS/MS to analyze the excretion-secretion proteins produced by T. solium metacestodes from infected pigs. This is the first report of the T. solium metacestode excretion-secretion proteome. We report 76 proteins including 27 already described T. solium proteins, 17 host proteins and 32 proteins likely to be of T. solium origin, but identified using sequences from other helminths., (© 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Neurocysticercosis, the infection of the central nervous system by larvae of Taenia solium, is a major cause of epilepsy in developing countries. This cestode is a public health problem in most developing countries where pigs are raised and its occurrence is strongly associated with poverty. The development of immunodiagnostic tools has contributed to our knowledge on the importance of this parasite by enabling seroepidemiological surveys and community-based studies to be conducted. Here, we present a comprehensive overview of the various proteins used in antibody detection techniques, as well as the latest developments in antigen detection techniques and serodiagnosis of taeniosis. A critical view on the use of serology in epidemiological studies and clinical control programs is given and future research needs are presented., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)