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The flatworm Taenia solium causes human and pig cysticercosis. When cysticerci are established in the human central nervous system, they cause neurocysticercosis, a potentially fatal disease. Neurocysticercosis is a persisting public health problem in rural regions of Mexico and other developing countries of Latin America, Asia, and Africa, where the infection is endemic. The great variability observed in the phenotypic and genotypic traits of cysticerci result in a great heterogeneity in the patterns of molecules secreted by them within their host. This work is aimed to identify and characterize cysticercal secretion proteins of T. solium cysticerci obtained from 5 naturally infected pigs from Guerrero, Mexico, using 2D-PAGE proteomic analysis. The isoelectric point (IP) and molecular weight (MW) of the spots were identified using the software ImageMaster 2D Platinum v.7.0. Since most secreted proteins are impossible to identify by mass spectrometry (MS) due to their low concentration in the sample, a novel strategy to predict their sequence was applied. In total, 108 conserved and 186 differential proteins were identified in five cysticercus cultures. Interestingly, we predicted the sequence of 14 proteins that were common in four out of five cysticercus cultures, which could be used to design vaccines or diagnostic methods for neurocysticercosis. A functional characterization of all sequences was performed using the algorithms SecretomeP, SignalP, and BlastKOALA. We found a possible link between signal transduction pathways in parasite cells and human cancer due to deregulation in signal transduction pathways. Bioinformatics analysis also demonstrated that the parasite release proteins by an exosome-like mechanism, which could be of biological interest., Author summary Human neurocysticercosis is a major neglected tropical disease caused by Taenia solium. As part of their natural metabolism, cysticerci release molecules into their microenvironment within the host. Secreted molecules could be useful in the design of vaccine candidates or diagnostic methods, or as therapeutic targets. Unfortunately, most secreted proteins cannot be identified by mass spectrometry sequencing due to their low concentration in the sample. In this study, we introduce a novel strategy to predict the sequence of T. solium secreted proteins using 2D-PAGE proteomic analysis and the T. solium genome. This approach allowed us to identify proteins with potential applications in the diagnosis and/or prevention of neurocysticercosis.

Objective: The aim of this study is to analyze the immune-endocrine profile in neurocysticercosis (NC) patients resistant to cysticidal treatment. Methods: The inflammatory and regulatory responses of 8 resistant NC patients with extraparenchymal parasites and 5 healthy controls were evaluated through flow cytometry. Serum interleukin levels were measured by ELISA and catecholamines levels by high performance liquid chromatography. Results: Higher percentages of Tr1, CD4+CD25+FOXP3+CD127– and CD4+CD45RO+FOXP3HI were found in NC patients compared with healthy controls, but no difference was found in catecholamine levels. Antigen-specific proliferative immune response was observed in NC patients. Neither anti-inflammatory nor pro-inflammatory cytokines showed differences between patients and controls, but IL-6 levels were lower in treatment-resistant NC patients. In addition, TGFβ showed a significant negative correlation with dopamine. Conclusions: Altogether, these results may point to a modulation of the neuroinflammation in these patients that could indirectly favor cysticercal survival in CNS microenvironment.

T regulatory cells play a key role in the control of the immune response, both in health and during illness. While the mechanisms through which T regulatory cells exert their function have been extensively described, their molecular effects on effector cells have received little attention. Thus, this revision is aimed at summarizing our current knowledge on those regulation mechanisms on the target cells from a molecular perspective.