# Functional Characterization of the Schistosome Tegument

> **NIH NIH R56** · TUFTS UNIVERSITY BOSTON · 2021 · $412,500

## Abstract

Schistosomes are parasitic flatworms that cause a chronic, debilitating disease afflicting
>200 million people in >70 countries. The parasites live for years in what should be a very
hostile environment – the blood of vertebrates – yet they appear to elicit little if any
damaging responses from the host’s hemostatic systems. We hypothesize that proteins at
the host-interactive surface, identified in the previous funding cycle, are central to this
ability. In this competing renewal, we propose to test several key hypotheses concerning:
1) the hemostatic roles of tegumental ectoenzymes SmNPP5 & SmATPDase in vitro and
in vivo, 2) the ability of tegumental ectoenzymes SmAP & NACE to generate key nutrients
- adenosine and nicotinamide respectively - that are vital for schistosome survival and
growth and 3) the ability of tegumental calpain to impede coagulation, promote
thrombolysis and to block local thrombus formation in vivo. These studies aim to reveal the
physiological functions of these proteins and will yield significant new information on the
molecular mechanisms used by schistosomes to blunt the host thrombotic response while
maintaining access to vital nutrients. In addition, the work may identify tegumental proteins
critical for parasite survival leading to subsequent screens to discover potential
schistosome-killing drugs that inhibit these molecules and/or to trials testing their vaccine
potential. In this way, our planned experiments have the potential to reveal novel and valid
targets, as well as new treatments, for intervention in a parasite that remains a widespread
and major cause of human disease. Additionally, given wide interest in understanding the
mechanisms governing coagulation control, knowing how schistosomes regulate this
process will be of keen interest beyond the field of eukaryotic pathogen research.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10384389
- **Project number:** 2R56AI056273-16A1
- **Recipient organization:** TUFTS UNIVERSITY BOSTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Patrick J Skelly
- **Activity code:** R56 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $412,500
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2004-03-15 → 2024-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10384389

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10384389, Functional Characterization of the Schistosome Tegument (2R56AI056273-16A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10384389. Licensed CC0.

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