Helminth parasites have long adapted to survive hostile host environments and can likely adapt against the chemical anthelmintic challenge. One proposed adaptation route is via Phase I and II xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes (XMEs). For successful Helminth pharmacotherapy discovery programs, a working understanding of Helminth-derived chemical detoxification, the Helminth detoxome, is a must. At present, the detoxome of a newly emerging Helminth parasite, the rumen fluke Calicophoron daubneyi, remains unexplored. Thus, a combined bioinformatics, sub-, and global-proteomic approach has been employed to examine the detoxome of adult C. daubneyi. Transcriptome analysis revealed a complement of Phase I (cytochrome P450s and monoamine oxygenases) and Phase II (glutathione transferases [GSTs] and sulfotransferases) XMEs. Affinity-led subproteomic exploration of the GSTs revealed six GST isoforms in adult rumen fluke (CdGST-Mu1-2, S1, and S3-5), with global approaches identifying additional GSTs (CdGST-O1-2, Z1, and S2) and a unique egg-specific variant (CdGST-S6). Examination of C. daubneyi extracellular vesicles revealed a GST profile replicating that of the adult with the absence of two isoforms (CdGST-S2 and S4), with an additional identification of a sulfotransferase. These data represent the first exploration into the complete rumen fluke detoxification capacity and will provide direction for future anthelmintic discovery programs.
Keywords: Helminth; anthelmintic; detoxome; extracellular vesicle; glutathione transferase; rumen fluke.