Isoenzyme analyses of opisthorchis viverrini and fasciola giantica by isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gel

Abstract

Opisthorchis viverrini and Fasciola gigantica are parasites residing in the liver of man and animals. The fluke, O. viverrini is common in fish-eating animals including man, whereas F. gigantica is found in herbivorous animals and occasionally in human. Isoenzymes of the adult's O. viverrini and F. gigantica were analyzed by isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gel at the same electrophoresis condition. The eleven enzymes studied were: acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, esterase, hexokinase, lactate dehydrogenase, glutamate dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, phosphoglucoisomerase, phosphoglucomutase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase. Among those enzymes examined, acid phosphatase, phosphoglucoisomerase, phosphoglucomutase and malate dehydrogenase showed high enzyme activities, whereas alkaline phosphatase, esterase, lactate dehydrogenase, hexokinase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase showed low enzyme activities. All of the eleven enzymes were found in F. gigantica, but four of them, namely, alkaline phosphatase, esterase, glutamate dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase were not detected in O. viverrini. Genotypic differences between the two species were clearly distinguished by three enzymatic systems, namely, acid phosphatase, phosphoglucoisomerase and phosphoglucomutase. Among the eleven enzymes, phosphoglucomutase isoenzyme variation was found in O. viverrini. This work indicates that O. viverrini and F. gigantica can be distinguished by their protein and isoenzyme patterns besides from their morphological differences.