Micro Exon Gene (MEG) proteins are thought to play major roles in the infection and survival of parasitic Schistosoma mansoni worms in host organisms. Here, the physical chemical properties of two small MEG proteins found in the genome of S. mansoni, named MEG-24 and MEG-27, were examined by a combination of biophysical techniques such as differential scanning calorimetry, tensiometry, circular dichroism, fluorescence, and electron spin resonance spectroscopies. The proteins are surface active and structurally arranged as cationic amphipathic α-helices that can associate with lipid membranes and cause their disruption. Upon adsorption to lipid membranes, MEG-27 strongly affects the fluidity of erythrocyte ghost membranes, whereas MEG-24 forms pores in erythrocytes without modifying the ghost membrane fluidity. Whole-mount in situ hybridization experiments indicates that MEG-27 and MEG-24 transcripts are located in the parasite esophagus and subtegumental cells, respectively, suggesting a relevant role of these proteins in the host-parasite interface. Taken together, these characteristics lead us to propose that these MEG proteins may interact with host cell membranes and potentially modulate the immune process using a similar mechanism as that described for α-helical membrane-active peptides.

中文翻译：

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血吸虫血吸虫两亲性α-螺旋MEG蛋白与膜的相互作用。

人们认为Micro Exon基因（MEG）蛋白在寄主生物中寄生曼氏血吸虫蠕虫的感染和存活中起主要作用。在这里，通过生物物理技术（例如差示扫描量热法，张力测定，圆二色性，荧光，和电子自旋共振光谱。这些蛋白质具有表面活性，并在结构上排列为阳离子两亲性α螺旋，可与脂质膜结合并引起其破坏。在吸附到脂膜上后，MEG-27强烈影响红细胞鬼膜的流动性，而MEG-24在红细胞中形成孔而不改变鬼膜的流动性。整个原位杂交实验表明，MEG-27和MEG-24转录本分别位于寄生虫食道和皮下细胞中，表明这些蛋白质在宿主-寄生虫界面中的相关作用。综上所述，这些特征使我们提出这些MEG蛋白可能与宿主细胞膜相互作用，并有可能使用与针对α螺旋膜活性肽所述相似的机制来调节免疫过程。