Glutathione binding proteins in the gastrointestinal nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus

A glutathione-affinity matrix was used to identify glutathione-dependent protein(s) in somatic extracts of the nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus. Polypeptides of 70-80 kDa were retained by the affinity matrix following the elution of H. polygyrus glutathione S-transferases by 5 mM glutathione. The 70-80-kDa polypeptides were subsequently eluted from the matrix by the addition of 20 mM glutathione and these polypeptides did not show glutathione S-transferase activity. The high-affinity H. polygyrus glutathione-binding proteins may be related to the uncharacterized purification hindering factors previously demonstrated during the isolation of glutathione S-transferases in several other helminths.