Echinostoma cinetorchis is an oriental intestinal fluke causing significant pathological damage to the small intestine. The aim of this study was to determine a full-length cDNA sequence of E. cinetorchis endoribonuclease (RNase H; EcRNH) and to elucidate its molecular biological characters. EcRNH consisted of 308 amino acids and showed low similarity to endoribonucleases of other parasites (<40%). EcRNH had an active site centered on a putative DDEED motif instead of DEDD conserved in other species. A recombinant EcRNH produced as a soluble form in Escherichia coli showed enzymatic activity to cleave the 3'-O-P bond of RNA in a DNA-RNA duplex, producing 3'-hydroxyl and 5'-phosphate. These findings may contribute to develop antisense oligonucleotides which could damage echinostomes and other flukes.
Keywords: Echinostoma cinetorchis; RNase H; endoribonuclease; localization; recombinant protein.