Schistosome tegument contains two cysteine proteases belonging to the calpain family (SmCalp1 and SmCalp2) and these are likely responsible for the high molecular weight kininogen (HK) cleavage reported here. Schistosome cleavage of HK should help impede blood clotting and inflammation around the worms in vivo and so promote their ease of movement within the vasculature of their hosts.
mice deficient in KNG showed less severe blood-brain barrier damage and edema formation and the local inflammatory response was reduced compared with controls.
Two genes kininogen-I and kininogen-II are located in close proximity on chromosome 16 in a head-to-head arrangement. In liver and kidney both genes are expressed and for each gene three alternative splice variants are synthesized.
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