Inactivation of proteolytic enzymes by cestodes.

Inhibitor activity of cestodes from intestines of different hosts (sea birds, salt-water fish, and freshwater fish) was investigated. Alcataenia larina, Arctotaenia tetrabothrioides, Tetrabothrius erostris, T. minor, Wardium cirrosa, Bothriocephalus scorpii, Eubothrium rugosum, and Triaenophorus nodulosus were able to inhibit the activity of the commercial trypsin and activity of proteinase homogenates of the intestinal mucosa of the hosts. It was suggested that the inhibitor produced by the cestodes is specific for trypsin and protects them from the digestive enzymes of the host.