Identification of Toxocara canis Antigen-Interacting Partners by Yeast Two-Hybrid Assay and a Putative Mechanism of These Host-Parasite Interactions.

Toxocara canis is a zoonotic roundworm that infects humans and dogs all over the world. Upon infection, larvae migrate to various tissues leading to different clinical syndromes. The host-parasite interactions underlying the process of infection remain poorly understood. Here, we describe the application of a yeast two-hybrid assay to screen a human cDNA library and analyse the interactome of T. canis larval molecules. Our data identifies 16 human proteins that putatively interact with the parasite. These molecules were associated with major biological processes, such as protein processing, transport, cellular component organisation, immune response and cell signalling. Some of these identified interactions are associated with the development of a Th2 response, neutrophil activity and signalling in immune cells. Other interactions may be linked to neurodegenerative processes observed during neurotoxocariasis, and some are associated with lung pathology found in infected hosts. Our results should open new areas of research and provide further data to enable a better understanding of this complex and underestimated disease.