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Larvae of the cestodes  Taenia solium  and  Taenia crassiceps  infect the central nervous system of humans.  Taenia solium  larvae in the brain cause neurocysticercosis, the leading cause of adult-acquired epilepsy worldwide. Relatively little is understood about how cestode-derived products modulate host neural and immune signalling. Acetylcholinesterases, a class of enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine, are produced by a host of parasitic worms to aid their survival in the host. Acetylcholine is an important signalling molecule in both the human nervous and immune systems, with powerful modulatory effects on the excitability of cortical networks. Therefore, it is important to establish whether cestode derived acetylcholinesterases may alter host neuronal cholinergic signalling. Here we make use of multiple techniques to profile acetylcholinesterase activity in different extracts of both  Taenia crassiceps  and  Taenia solium  larvae. We find that the larvae of both species contain substantial acetylcholinesterase activity. However, acetylcholinesterase activity is lower in  Taenia solium  as compared to  Taenia crassiceps  larvae. Further, whilst we observed acetylcholinesterase activity in all fractions of  Taenia crassiceps  larvae, including on the membrane surface and in the excreted/secreted extracts, we could not identify acetylcholinesterases on the membrane surface or in the excreted/secreted extracts of  Taenia solium  larvae. Bioinformatic analysis revealed conservation of the functional protein domains in the  Taenia solium  acetylcholinesterases, when compared to the homologous human sequence. Finally, using whole-cell patch clamp recordings in rat hippocampal brain slice cultures, we demonstrate that  Taenia  larval derived acetylcholinesterases can break down acetylcholine at a concentration which induces changes in neuronal signalling. Together, these findings highlight the possibility that  Taenia  larval acetylcholinesterases can interfere with cholinergic signalling in the host, potentially contributing to pathogenesis in neurocysticercosis.

Taenia larvae possess distinct acetylcholinesterase profiles with implications for host cholinergic signalling