Proteinase inhibitors in Ascarida

Ascaris suum and A. lumbricoides are intestinal parasites that survive in a hostile hydrolytic environment They contain low-molecular-weight proteins that can inactivate most of the proteinases present in the worm's surroundings. Jeffrey Hawley, Mark Martzen and Robert Peanasky suggest that host specificity of these nematodes may be associated with the efficiency of their inhibitors.