Trichobilharzia regenti which are capable of keratin and collagen degradation. Experiments with laboratory prepared recombinant form of the cysteine peptidase cathepsin B2 of "T. regenti" (TrCB2) confirmed its ability to cleave skin proteins (collagen, keratin and elastin). After penetration the skin, cercariae transform to schistosomula and start a migration through the host’s body. They avoid penetration into blood capillaries and rather prefer entering peripheral nerves in host’s limbs. Schistosomula are found in peripheral nerves of ducks and mice as soon as 1.5 and 1 day post infection (DPI), respectively. In both types of hosts, schistosomula exhibit a high affinity to the central
Lectin their particular high specificity for foreign glycoconjugates (e.g. those of fungi, invertebrates, and animals) and used in biomedicine for blood cell testing and in biochemistry for fractionation. Although they were first discovered more than 100 years ago in plants, now lectins are known to be present throughout nature. It is generally believed that the earliest description of a lectin was given by Peter Hermann Stillmark in his doctoral thesis presented in 1888 to the University of Dorpat. Stillmark isolated ricin, an extremely toxic hemagglutinin, from seeds of the castor plant ("Ricinus communis"). The first lectin to be purified on a