Production of recombinant cathepsin C from human blood fluke

Blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma cause schistosomiasis, a serious parasitic disease occurring in tropical and subtropical areas. Cathepsin C (EC 3.4.14.1) is a digestive enzyme of the blood flukes which participates in the degradation of hemoglobin through its dipeptidyl aminopeptidase activity. This enzyme is critical for metabolism of the parasite and represents a potential target for the development of antischistosomal drugs. Cathepsin C has not yet been studied in detail. This bachelor thesis is focused on the development of expression systems for production of recombinant cathepsin C of Schistosoma mansoni (SmCC). The yeast Pichia pastoris system was used for the expression of an inactive SmCC precursor (zymogen) whose proteolytic stability was analysed. Furthermore, the expression system for SmCC in the protozoan Leishmania tarentolae was employed, and four different SmCC constructs were prepared to optimize production