Th1-type cytokines produced by the stimulation of Th1-type epitopes derived from definedschistosome-associated antigens are correlated with the development of resistance to the parasite infection.Schistosoma mansoni 28 kDa glutathione-S-transferase(Sm28GST),a major detoxification enzyme,hasbeen recognized as a vaccine candidate and a phase Ⅱ clinical trial has been carried out.Sheep immunizedwith recombinant Schistosoma japonicum 28GST(Sj28GST)have shown immune protection against theparasite infection.In the present study,six candidate peptides(P1,P2,P3,P4,P7 and P8)from Sj28GSTwere predicted,using software,to be T cell epitopes,and peptides P5 and P6 were designed by extendingfive amino acids at the N-terminal and C-terminal of P1,respectively.The peptide 190-211 aa in Sj28GSTcorresponding to the Th1-type epitope(190-211 aa)identified from Sm28GST was selected and named P9.The nine candidate peptides were synthesized or produced as the fusion protein with thioredoxin in thepET32c(+)/BL21(DE3)system.Their capacity to induce a Th1-type response in vitro was measured usinglymphocyte proliferation,cytokine detection experiments and flow cytometry.The results showed that P6(73-86 aa)generated the strongest stimulation effect on T cells among the nine candidate peptides,and drovethe highest level of IFN-γ and IL-2.Therefore,P6 is a functional Th1-type T cell epitope that is differentfrom that in Sm28GST,and will be useful for the development of effective vaccines which can triggeracquired immunity against S.japonicum.Moreover,our strategy of identifying the Th1-type epitope by acombination of software prediction and experimental confirmation provides a convenient and cost-savingalternative approach to previous methods. Th1-type cytokines produced by the stimulation of Th1-type epitopes derived from definedschistosome-associated antigens are correlated with the development of resistance to the parasite infection. Schistosoma mansoni 28 kDa glutathione-S-transferase (Sm28GST), a major detoxification enzyme, hasbeen recognized as a vaccine candidate and a phase II clinical trial has been carried out. Sheep immunizedwith recombinant Schistosoma japonicum 28GST (Sj28GST) have shown immune protection against theparasite infection.In the present study, six candidate peptides (P1, P2, P3, P4, P7 and P8) from Sj28GSTwere predicted, using software, to be T cell epitopes, and peptides P5 and P6 were designed by extending the amino acids at the N-terminal and C-terminal of P1, respectively. Peptide 190-211 aa in Sj28GSTcorresponding to the Th1-type epitope (190-211 aa) identified from Sm28GST was selected and named P9. The nine candidate peptides were synthesized or produced as fusion protein with thioredoxin in the pET32c (+) /BL21(DE3)system. Their capacity to induce a Th1-type response in vitro was measured using lymphocyte proliferation, cytokine detection experiments and flow cytometry. The results showed that P6 (73-86 aa) generated the strongest stimulation effect on T cells among the nine candidate peptides, and drove the highest level of IFN-γ and IL-2.Therefore, P6 is a functional Th1-type T cell epitope that is differentfrom that in Sm28GST, and will be useful for the development of effective vaccines which can triggeracquired immunity against S. japonicum. Moreover, our strategy of identifying the Th1-type epitope by acombination of software prediction and experimental confirmation provides a convenient and cost-saving alternative approach to previous methods.