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Shinozaki K, Kirinoki M, Atcharaphan W, Watanabe KI, Ohari Y, Suguta S, Ona KAL, Ushio N, Macalanda AMC, Suganuma K, Inoue N, Kawazu SI. Expression profile analysis of the transient receptor potential (TRPM) channel, a possible target of praziquantel in Schistosoma japonicum. Parasitol Int 2024; 99:102833. [PMID: 38061487 DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2023.102833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/08/2024]
Abstract
The WHO considers schistosomiasis, which is controlled by the mass administration of the drug praziquantel (PZQ), to be a neglected tropical disease. Despite its clinical use for over four decades, PZQ remains the only choice of chemotherapy against this disease. Regarding the previous studies that demonstrated that PZQ activates the transient receptor potential (TRP) channel in Schistosoma mansoni (Sm.TRPMPZQ), the expression profile of the ortholog of this channel gene (Smp_246790.5) in S. japonicum (EWB00_008853) (Sj.TRPMPZQ) was analyzed. The relative expression of this gene in various stages of the parasite lifecycle was analyzed by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR), and the expression of Sj.TRPMPZQ was observed by immunohistochemical staining using anti-serum against the recombinant Sj.TRPMPZQ protein. qRT-PCR revealed the significantly lower mRNA expression in the snail stage in comparison to other stages (p < 0.01). The relative quantity of the Sj.TRPMPZQ expression for paired females, unpaired males, and eggs was 60%, 56%, and 68%, respectively, in comparison to paired males that showed the highest expression (p < 0.05). Interestingly, immunostaining demonstrated that Sj.TRPMPZQ is expressed in the parenchyma which contains muscle cells, neuronal cells and tegument cells in adult worms. This may support the two major effects of PZQ-worm paralysis and tegument disruption-induced by channel activation. Moreover, the channel was expressed in both the eggshell and the miracidia inside, but could not be observed in sporocyst. These results suggest that the expression of Sj.TRPMPQZ corresponds to the known sensitivity of S. japonicum to PZQ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaho Shinozaki
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
| | - Masashi Kirinoki
- Laboratory of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Dokkyo Medical University, Tochigi 321-0293, Japan
| | - Wanlop Atcharaphan
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
| | - Ken-Ichi Watanabe
- Laboratory of Veterinary Pathology, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
| | - Yuma Ohari
- Division of Risk Analysis and Management, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido 001-0020, Japan
| | - Saki Suguta
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
| | - Kevin Austin L Ona
- College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila, 1000 Manila, Philippines
| | - Nanako Ushio
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
| | - Adrian Miki C Macalanda
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan; College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Cavite State University, Indang 4122, Cavite, Philippines
| | - Keisuke Suganuma
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
| | - Noboru Inoue
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan
| | - Shin-Ichiro Kawazu
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
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2
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Sun HY, Zhang JY, Zhang HX, Xu Q, Lu DB. Genetic difference between two Schistosoma japonicum isolates with contrasting cercarial shedding patterns revealed by whole genome sequencing. Parasite 2023; 30:59. [PMID: 38084940 PMCID: PMC10714679 DOI: 10.1051/parasite/2023061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2023] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Schistosoma japonicum is one of the major infectious agents of human schistosomiasis, mainly endemic in China and the Philippines. We have previously reported the finding of two schistosome isolates, each with a different cercarial emergence pattern adapted to their different hosts. However, there are currently no whole-genome sequencing studies to investigate the underlining genetics of the adaptive traits. We sampled schistosomes in 2013 and 2020 from a hilly area Shitai (ST) and a marshland area Hexian (HX) of Anhui, China. Ten to 15 male or female adult worms from each site/year were sent for whole genome sequencing. Genetics were analyzed, and selection signals along genomes were detected. Gene enrichment analysis was performed for the genome regions under selection. The results revealed considerable genetic differentiation between the two isolates. The genome "windows" affected by natural selection were fewer in ST (64 windows containing 78 genes) than in HX (318 windows containing 276 genes). Twelve significantly enriched genes were identified in ST, but none in HX. These genes were mainly related to specific DNA binding and intercellular signaling transduction. Some functional region changes identified along the genome of the hilly schistosome may be related to its unique late afternoon cercarial emergence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui-Ying Sun
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Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Preventive and Translational Medicine for Geriatric Diseases, MOE Key Laboratory of Geriatric Diseases and Immunology, Suzhou Medical College of Soochow University 199 RenAi Road, Industrial Park Avenue Suzhou Jiangsu 215123 PR China
| | - Jie-Ying Zhang
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Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Preventive and Translational Medicine for Geriatric Diseases, MOE Key Laboratory of Geriatric Diseases and Immunology, Suzhou Medical College of Soochow University 199 RenAi Road, Industrial Park Avenue Suzhou Jiangsu 215123 PR China
| | - Han-Xiang Zhang
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Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Preventive and Translational Medicine for Geriatric Diseases, MOE Key Laboratory of Geriatric Diseases and Immunology, Suzhou Medical College of Soochow University 199 RenAi Road, Industrial Park Avenue Suzhou Jiangsu 215123 PR China
| | - Qing Xu
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Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Preventive and Translational Medicine for Geriatric Diseases, MOE Key Laboratory of Geriatric Diseases and Immunology, Suzhou Medical College of Soochow University 199 RenAi Road, Industrial Park Avenue Suzhou Jiangsu 215123 PR China
| | - Da-Bing Lu
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Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Preventive and Translational Medicine for Geriatric Diseases, MOE Key Laboratory of Geriatric Diseases and Immunology, Suzhou Medical College of Soochow University 199 RenAi Road, Industrial Park Avenue Suzhou Jiangsu 215123 PR China
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3
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Li X, Weth O, Haeberlein S, Grevelding CG. Molecular characterization of Sm tdc-1 and Sm ddc-1 discloses roles as male-competence factors for the sexual maturation of Schistosoma mansoni females. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1173557. [PMID: 37305409 PMCID: PMC10252128 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1173557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Schistosomes are the only mammalian flatworms that have evolved separate sexes. A key question of schistosome research is the male-dependent sexual maturation of the female since a constant pairing contact with a male is required for the onset of gonad development in the female. Although this phenomenon is long known, only recently a first peptide-based pheromone of males was identified that contributes to the control of female sexual development. Beyond this, our understanding of the molecular principles inducing the substantial developmental changes in a paired female is still rudimentary. Objectives Previous transcriptomic studies have consistently pointed to neuronal genes being differentially expressed and upregulated in paired males. These genes included Smp_135230 and Smp_171580, both annotated as aromatic-L-amino-acid decarboxylases (DOPA decarboxylases). Here, we characterized both genes and investigated their roles in male-female interaction of S. mansoni. Methodologies/findings Sequence analyses indicated that Smp_135230 represents an L-tyrosine decarboxylase (Smtdc-1), whereas Smp_171580 represents a DOPA decarboxylase (Smddc-1). By qRT-PCR, we confirmed the male-specific and pairing-dependent expression of both genes with a significant bias toward paired males. RNA-interference experiments showed a strong influence of each gene on gonad differentiation in paired females, which was enhanced by double knockdown. Accordingly, egg production was significantly reduced. By confocal laser scanning microscopy, a failure of oocyte maturation was found in paired knockdown females. Whole-mount in situ hybridization patterns exhibited the tissue-specific occurrence of both genes in particular cells at the ventral surface of the male, the gynecophoral canal, which represents the physical interface of both genders. These cells probably belong to the predicted neuronal cluster 2 of S. mansoni. Conclusion Our results suggest that Smtdc-1 and Smddc-2 are male-competence factors that are expressed in neuronal cells at the contact zone between the genders as a response of pairing to subsequently control processes of female sexual maturation.
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Hambrook JR, Hanington PC. A cercarial invadolysin interferes with the host immune response and facilitates infection establishment of Schistosoma mansoni. PLoS Pathog 2023; 19:e1010884. [PMID: 36730464 PMCID: PMC9928134 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Revised: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Schistosoma mansoni employs immune evasion and immunosuppression to overcome immune responses mounted by its snail and human hosts. Myriad immunomodulating factors underlie this process, some of which are proteases. Here, we demonstrate that one protease, an invadolysin we have termed SmCI-1, is released from the acetabular glands of S. mansoni cercaria and is involved in creating an immunological milieu favorable for survival of the parasite. The presence of SmCI-1 in the cercarial stage of S. mansoni is released during transformation into the schistosomula. SmCI-1 functions as a metalloprotease with the capacity to cleave collagen type IV, gelatin and fibrinogen. Additionally, complement component C3b is cleaved by this protease, resulting in inhibition of the classical and alternative complement pathways. Using SmCI-1 knockdown cercariae, we demonstrate that SmCI-1 protects schistosomula from complement-mediated lysis in human plasma. We also assess the effect of SmCI-1 on cytokine release from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, providing compelling evidence that SmCI-1 promotes an anti-inflammatory microenvironment by enhancing production of IL-10 and suppressing the production of inflammatory cytokines like IL-1B and IL-12p70 and those involved in eosinophil recruitment and activation, like Eotaxin-1 and IL-5. Finally, we utilize the SmCI-1 knockdown cercaria in a mouse model of infection, revealing a role for SmCI-1 in S. mansoni survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob R. Hambrook
- School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Patrick C. Hanington
- School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- * E-mail:
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5
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Gonçalves-Silva G, Vieira LGMDS, Cosenza-Contreras M, Souza AFP, Costa DC, Castro-Borges W. Profiling the serum proteome during Schistosoma mansoni infection in the BALB/c mice: A focus on the altered lipid metabolism as a key modulator of host-parasite interactions. Front Immunol 2022; 13:955049. [PMID: 36119112 PMCID: PMC9471378 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.955049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Schistosomiasis represents a condition in which every aspect of the disease, starting from skin invasion of the cercariae to egg laying by adult worms, incites a tissue response from the vertebrate host. This response, whether acute or chronic, leads to the appearance of reporter molecules of tissue injury in bodily fluids that could be surveyed as markers for disease diagnosis, status and prognosis. In this scenario, the serum proteome associated with a schistosome infection remains poorly explored; particularly by the use of high-throughput mass spectrometric instrumentation. In this study, we aimed to comparatively examine the serum proteome of control versus infected BALB/c mice, spanning the interval between the onset of egg laying and the peak of the acute phase of infection. Compositional analysis of the sera, using one dimensional reversed-phase fractionation of tryptic peptides coupled to mass spectrometry, allowed identification of 453 constituents. Among these, over 30% (143 molecules) were differentially present comparing sera from infected and non-infected mice, as revealed by quantitative label-free shotgun approach. The majority of proteins exhibiting altered levels was categorised as belonging to immune response (acute phase-related proteins) followed by those linked to lipid transport and metabolism. Inspection of the lipid profile from control and infected individuals demonstrated more pronounced and significant alterations in triglycerides, VLDL and HDL fractions (p<0,001), attesting for a disturbance in circulating lipid molecules, and suggesting a key role in host-parasite interactions. Our findings provide a global view of the serum proteome in the context of experimental schistosomiasis during the acute phase of infection. It contributes by listing key molecules that could be monitored to inform on the associated inflammatory disease status. We hope it will shed light into uncovered aspects of the Schistosoma mansoni parasitism in the vertebrate host, particularly those related to modulation of the lipid metabolism mediating immune responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gustavo Gonçalves-Silva
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
| | | | - Miguel Cosenza-Contreras
- Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg/Institute for Surgical Pathology, University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ana Flávia Pinho Souza
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
| | - Daniela Caldeira Costa
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Biológicas Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
| | - Wiliam Castro-Borges
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Biológicas Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
- *Correspondence: Wiliam Castro-Borges,
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6
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Hassan MM, Sedighi A, Olaoye OO, Häberli C, Merz A, Ramos-Morales E, de Araujo ED, Romier C, Jung M, Keiser J, Gunning PT. Phenotypic Screening of Histone Deacetylase (HDAC) Inhibitors against Schistosoma mansoni. ChemMedChem 2022; 17:e202100622. [PMID: 35983937 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202100622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Revised: 07/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Schistosomiasis is a prevalent yet neglected tropical parasitic disease caused by the Schistosoma genus of blood flukes. Praziquantel is the only currently available treatment, hence drug resistance poses a major threat. Recently, histone deacetylase 8 (HDAC8) selective inhibitors have been proposed as a viable treatment for schistosomiasis. Herein, we report the phenotypic screening of a focused library of small molecules of varying HDAC isozyme-inhibition profiles, including eight HDAC8 inhibitors with >10-fold selectivity in comparable functional inhibition assays and IC50 values against HDAC8<100 nM. HDAC8-selective inhibitors showed the lowest potency against Schistosoma mansoni newly transformed schistosomula (NTS). Pan-HDAC inhibitors MMH258, MMH259, and MMH373, as assessed by functional inhibition assays, with minimal or no-observed hHDAC8 and SmHDAC8 activities, were active against both NTS (MMH258, IC50 =1.5 μM; MMH259, IC50 =2.3 μM) and adult S. mansoni (MMH258, IC50 =2.1 μM; MMH373, IC50 =3.4 μM). Our results indicate that neither hHDAC8 nor SmHDAC8 activity were directly correlated to their NTS and adult S. mansoni activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Murtaza Hassan
- Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road North, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada.,Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - Abootaleb Sedighi
- Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road North, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada.,Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - Olasunkanmi O Olaoye
- Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road North, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada.,Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, Canada
| | - Cécile Häberli
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4123, Allschwil, Switzerland.,University of Basel, 4003, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Annika Merz
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Albertstr. 25, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Elizabeth Ramos-Morales
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, INSERM, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, UMR 7104, U 1258, 67400, Illkirch, France.,Department of Integrated Structural Biology IGBMC, 1 rue Laurent Fries, B.P. 10142, 67404, Illkirch Cedex, France
| | - Elvin D de Araujo
- Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road North, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada
| | - Christophe Romier
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, INSERM, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, UMR 7104, U 1258, 67400, Illkirch, France.,Department of Integrated Structural Biology IGBMC, 1 rue Laurent Fries, B.P. 10142, 67404, Illkirch Cedex, France
| | - Manfred Jung
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Albertstr. 25, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Jennifer Keiser
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4123, Allschwil, Switzerland.,University of Basel, 4003, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Patrick T Gunning
- Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road North, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada.,Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, Canada
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7
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Ogongo P, Nyakundi RK, Chege GK, Ochola L. The Road to Elimination: Current State of Schistosomiasis Research and Progress Towards the End Game. Front Immunol 2022; 13:846108. [PMID: 35592327 PMCID: PMC9112563 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.846108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The new WHO Roadmap for Neglected Tropical Diseases targets the global elimination of schistosomiasis as a public health problem. To date, control strategies have focused on effective diagnostics, mass drug administration, complementary and integrative public health interventions. Non-mammalian intermediate hosts and other vertebrates promote transmission of schistosomiasis and have been utilized as experimental model systems. Experimental animal models that recapitulate schistosomiasis immunology, disease progression, and pathology observed in humans are important in testing and validation of control interventions. We discuss the pivotal value of these models in contributing to elimination of schistosomiasis. Treatment of schistosomiasis relies heavily on mass drug administration of praziquantel whose efficacy is comprised due to re-infections and experimental systems have revealed the inability to kill juvenile schistosomes. In terms of diagnosis, nonhuman primate models have demonstrated the low sensitivity of the gold standard Kato Katz smear technique. Antibody assays are valuable tools for evaluating efficacy of candidate vaccines, and sera from graded infection experiments are useful for evaluating diagnostic sensitivity of different targets. Lastly, the presence of Schistosomes can compromise the efficacy of vaccines to other infectious diseases and its elimination will benefit control programs of the other diseases. As the focus moves towards schistosomiasis elimination, it will be critical to integrate treatment, diagnostics, novel research tools such as sequencing, improved understanding of disease pathogenesis and utilization of experimental models to assist with evaluating performance of new approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Ogongo
- Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.,Department of Tropical and Infectious Diseases, Institute of Primate Research, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Ruth K Nyakundi
- Department of Tropical and Infectious Diseases, Institute of Primate Research, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Gerald K Chege
- Primate Unit & Delft Animal Centre, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.,Department of Pathology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Lucy Ochola
- Department of Tropical and Infectious Diseases, Institute of Primate Research, Nairobi, Kenya.,Department of Environmental Health, School of Behavioural and Lifestyle Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa
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8
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Castro-Borges W, Wilson RA. Schistosome proteomics: updates and clinical implications. Expert Rev Proteomics 2022; 19:247-261. [PMID: 36331139 DOI: 10.1080/14789450.2022.2142565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Schistosomes are long-lived blood dwelling helminth parasites using intricate mechanisms to invade, mature, and reproduce inside their vertebrate hosts, whilst simultaneously deploying immune evasion strategies. Their multi-tissue organization and solid body plan presents particular problems for the definition of sub-proteomes. AREAS COVERED Here, we focus on the two host-parasite interfaces of the adult worm accessible to the immune system, namely the tegument and the alimentary tract, but also on the secretions of the infective cercaria, the migrating schistosomulum and the mature egg. In parallel, we introduce the concepts of "leakyome' and 'disintegrome' to emphasize the importance of interpreting data in the context of schistosome biology so that misleading conclusions about the distinct proteome compositions are avoided. Lastly, we highlight the possible clinical implications of the reviewed proteomic findings for pathogenesis, vaccine design and diagnostics. EXPERT OPINION Proteomics has provided considerable insights into the biology of schistosomes, most importantly for rational selection of novel vaccine candidates that might confer protective immunity, but also into the pathogenesis of schistosomiasis. However, given the increasing sensitivity of mass spectrometric instrumentation, we stress the need for care in data interpretation since schistosomes do not deviate from the fundamental rules of eukaryotic cell biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Castro-Borges
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brasil
| | - R Alan Wilson
- Department of Biology and York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, Heslington, York, UK
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9
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Guerrero-Hernández J, Bobes RJ, García-Varela M, Castellanos-Gonzalez A, Laclette JP. Identification and functional characterization of the siRNA pathway in Taenia crassiceps by silencing Enolase A. Acta Trop 2022; 225:106197. [PMID: 34688628 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.106197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
A gene silencing procedure on cysticerci of the taeniid cestode Taenia crassiceps is described. This is the first time this technique is reported in this species that is widely used as an animal model for human cysticercosis. Genome database searches were performed in order to find out if relevant genes involved in gene silencing and non-coding RNA processing, Argonaute and Dicer (AGO and Dcr) are present in T. crassiceps. We found three AGO and two Dcr orthologues that were designed TcAGO1, Tc2 and Tc3, as well as TcDcr1 and TcDcr2. In order to elucidate the evolutionary relationships of T. crassiceps TcAGO and TcDcr genes, separate phylogenetic analyses were carried out for each, including AGO and Dcr orthologues of other 20 platyhelminthes. Our findings showed a close phylogenetic relationship of TcAGO and TcDcr with those previously described for Echinococcus spp. Our RT-PCR studies demonstrated expression of all TcAGO and TcDcr orthologues. Our results show that the gene silencing machinery in T. crassiceps is functionally active by inducing silencing of TcEnoA (∼90%). These results clearly show that gene silencing using siRNAs can be used as a molecular methodology to study gene function in taeniid cestodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julio Guerrero-Hernández
- Biomedical Research Institute. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, 04510, Coyoacán, Cd. de México, México
| | - Raúl J Bobes
- Biomedical Research Institute. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, 04510, Coyoacán, Cd. de México, México
| | - Martín García-Varela
- Biology Institute. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, Coyoacán, Cd. de México, México
| | - Alejandro Castellanos-Gonzalez
- Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, United States; Center for Tropical Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, United States..
| | - Juan P Laclette
- Biomedical Research Institute. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, 04510, Coyoacán, Cd. de México, México.
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10
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Namulondo J, Mulindwa J, Nyangiri OA, Egesa M, Noyes H, Matovu E. Gene expression changes in mammalian hosts during schistosomiasis: a review. AAS Open Res 2021. [DOI: 10.12688/aasopenres.13312.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Schistosomiasis affects over 250 million people worldwide with an estimated mortality of more than 200,000 deaths per year in sub-Saharan Africa. Efforts to control schistosomiasis in the affected areas have mainly relied on mass administration of praziquantel, which kills adult but not immature worms of all Schistosoma species. Mammalian hosts respond differently to Schistosoma infection with some being more susceptible than others, which is associated with risk factors such as sociodemographic, epidemiological, immunological and/or genetic. Host genetic factors play a major role in influencing molecular processes in response to schistosomiasis as shown in gene expression studies. These studies highlight gene profiles expressed at different time points of infection using model animals. Immune function related genes; cytokines (Th1 and Th17) are upregulated earlier in infection and Th2 upregulated later indicating a mixed Th1/Th2 response. However, Th1 response has been shown to be sustained in S. japonicum infection. Immune mediators such as matrix metalloproteinases (Mmps) and tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (Timps) are expressed later in the infection and these are linked to wound healing and fibrosis. Downregulation of metabolic associated genes is recorded in later stages of infection. Most mammalian host gene expression studies have been done using rodent models, with fewer in larger hosts such as bovines and humans. The majority of these studies have focused on S. japonicum infections and less on S. haematobium and S. mansoni infections (the two species that cause most global infections). The few human schistosomiasis gene expression studies so far have focused on S. japonicum and S. haematobium infections and none on S. mansoni, as far as we are aware. This highlights a paucity of gene expression data in humans, specifically with S. mansoni infection. This data is important to understand the disease pathology, identify biomarkers, diagnostics and possible drug targets.
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11
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Fifty years of the schistosome tegument: discoveries, controversies, and outstanding questions. Int J Parasitol 2021; 51:1213-1232. [PMID: 34767805 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2021.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2021] [Revised: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The unique multilaminate appearance of the tegument surface of schistosomes was first described in 1973, in one of the earliest volumes of the International Journal for Parasitology. The present review, published almost 50 years later, traces the development of our knowledge of the tegument, starting with those earliest cytological advances, particularly the surface plasma membrane-membranocalyx complex, through an era of protein discovery to the modern age of protein characterization, aided by proteomics. More recently, analysis of single cell transcriptomes of schistosomes is providing insight into the organisation of the cell bodies that support the surface syncytium. Our understanding of the tegument, notably the nature of the proteins present within the plasma membrane and membranocalyx, has provided insights into how the schistosomes interact with their hosts but many aspects of how the tegument functions remain unanswered. Among the unresolved aspects are those concerned with maintenance and renewal of the surface membrane complex, and whether surface proteins and membrane components are recycled. Current controversies arising from investigations about whether the tegument is a source of extracellular vesicles during parasitism, and if it is covered with glycolytic enzymes, are evaluated in the light of cytological and proteomic knowledge of the layer.
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12
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Amaral MS, Santos DW, Pereira ASA, Tahira AC, Malvezzi JVM, Miyasato PA, Freitas RDP, Kalil J, Tjon Kon Fat EM, de Dood CJ, Corstjens PLAM, van Dam GJ, Nakano E, Castro SDO, Mattaraia VGDM, Augusto RDC, Grunau C, Wilson RA, Verjovski-Almeida S. Rhesus macaques self-curing from a schistosome infection can display complete immunity to challenge. Nat Commun 2021; 12:6181. [PMID: 34702841 PMCID: PMC8548296 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26497-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The rhesus macaque provides a unique model of acquired immunity against schistosomes, which afflict >200 million people worldwide. By monitoring bloodstream levels of parasite-gut-derived antigen, we show that from week 10 onwards an established infection with Schistosoma mansoni is cleared in an exponential manner, eliciting resistance to reinfection. Secondary challenge at week 42 demonstrates that protection is strong in all animals and complete in some. Antibody profiles suggest that antigens mediating protection are the released products of developing schistosomula. In culture they are killed by addition of rhesus plasma, collected from week 8 post-infection onwards, and even more efficiently with post-challenge plasma. Furthermore, cultured schistosomula lose chromatin activating marks at the transcription start site of genes related to worm development and show decreased expression of genes related to lysosomes and lytic vacuoles involved with autophagy. Overall, our results indicate that enhanced antibody responses against the challenge migrating larvae mediate the naturally acquired protective immunity and will inform the route to an effective vaccine. To date there is only one single drug with modest efficacy and no vaccine available to protect from schistosomiasis. Here, Amaral et al. characterize the self-cure process of rhesus macaques following primary infection and secondary challenge with Schistosoma mansoni to inform future vaccine development studies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daisy Woellner Santos
- Laboratório de Parasitologia, Instituto Butantan, Sao Paulo, Brazil.,Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Adriana S A Pereira
- Laboratório de Parasitologia, Instituto Butantan, Sao Paulo, Brazil.,Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | | | | | | | | | - Jorge Kalil
- Heart Institute, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo (USP), Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Elisa M Tjon Kon Fat
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Claudia J de Dood
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Paul L A M Corstjens
- Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Govert J van Dam
- Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Eliana Nakano
- Laboratório de Parasitologia, Instituto Butantan, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | | | | | - Ronaldo de Carvalho Augusto
- LBMC, Laboratoire de Biologie et Modélisation de la Cellule Univ Lyon, ENS de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR 5239, INSERM, U1210, Lyon, France.,IHPE, Univ. Perpignan Via Domitia, CNRS, IFREMER, Univ Montpellier, Perpignan, France
| | - Christoph Grunau
- IHPE, Univ. Perpignan Via Domitia, CNRS, IFREMER, Univ Montpellier, Perpignan, France
| | - R Alan Wilson
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York, United Kingdom
| | - Sergio Verjovski-Almeida
- Laboratório de Parasitologia, Instituto Butantan, Sao Paulo, Brazil. .,Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
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13
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Liu G, Jiang H, Sun W, Zhang J, Chen D, Murchie AIH. The function of twister ribozyme variants in non-LTR retrotransposition in Schistosoma mansoni. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:10573-10588. [PMID: 34551436 PMCID: PMC8501958 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The twister ribozyme is widely distributed over numerous organisms and is especially abundant in Schistosoma mansoni, but has no confirmed biological function. Of the 17 non-LTR retrotransposons known in S. mansoni, none have thus far been associated with ribozymes. Here we report the identification of novel twister variant (T-variant) ribozymes and their function in S. mansoni non-LTR retrotransposition. We show that T-variant ribozymes are located at the 5′ end of Perere-3 non-LTR retrotransposons in the S. mansoni genome. T-variant ribozymes were demonstrated to be catalytically active in vitro. In reporter constructs, T-variants were shown to cleave in vivo, and cleavage of T-variants was sufficient for the translation of downstream reporter genes. Our analysis shows that the T-variants and Perere-3 are transcribed together. Target site duplications (TSDs); markers of target-primed reverse transcription (TPRT) and footmarks of retrotransposition, are located adjacent to the T-variant cleavage site and suggest that T-variant cleavage has taken place inS. mansoni. Sequence heterogeneity in the TSDs indicates that Perere-3 retrotransposition is not site-specific. The TSD sequences contribute to the 5′ end of the terminal ribozyme helix (P1 stem). Based on these results we conclude that T-variants have a functional role in Perere-3 retrotransposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Getong Liu
- Fudan University Pudong Medical Center, and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.,Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Hengyi Jiang
- Fudan University Pudong Medical Center, and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.,Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Wenxia Sun
- Fudan University Pudong Medical Center, and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.,Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Jun Zhang
- Fudan University Pudong Medical Center, and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.,Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Dongrong Chen
- Fudan University Pudong Medical Center, and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.,Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Alastair I H Murchie
- Fudan University Pudong Medical Center, and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.,Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Ministry of Education, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
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14
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Assessment of reference genes at six different developmental stages of Schistosoma mansoni for quantitative RT-PCR. Sci Rep 2021; 11:16816. [PMID: 34413342 PMCID: PMC8376997 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-96055-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Reverse-transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is the most used, fast, and reproducible method to confirm large-scale gene expression data. The use of stable reference genes for the normalization of RT-qPCR assays is recognized worldwide. No systematic study for selecting appropriate reference genes for usage in RT-qPCR experiments comparing gene expression levels at different Schistosoma mansoni life-cycle stages has been performed. Most studies rely on genes commonly used in other organisms, such as actin, tubulin, and GAPDH. Therefore, the present study focused on identifying reference genes suitable for RT-qPCR assays across six S. mansoni developmental stages. The expression levels of 25 novel candidates that we selected based on the analysis of public RNA-Seq datasets, along with eight commonly used reference genes, were systematically tested by RT-qPCR across six developmental stages of S. mansoni (eggs, miracidia, cercariae, schistosomula, adult males and adult females). The stability of genes was evaluated with geNorm, NormFinder and RefFinder algorithms. The least stable candidate reference genes tested were actin, tubulin and GAPDH. The two most stable reference genes suitable for RT-qPCR normalization were Smp_101310 (Histone H4 transcription factor) and Smp_196510 (Ubiquitin recognition factor in ER-associated degradation protein 1). Performance of these two genes as normalizers was successfully evaluated with females maintained unpaired or paired to males in culture for 8 days, or with worm pairs exposed for 16 days to double-stranded RNAs to silence a protein-coding gene. This study provides reliable reference genes for RT-qPCR analysis using samples from six different S. mansoni life-cycle stages.
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15
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Lu Z, Sankaranarayanan G, Rawlinson KA, Offord V, Brindley PJ, Berriman M, Rinaldi G. The Transcriptome of Schistosoma mansoni Developing Eggs Reveals Key Mediators in Pathogenesis and Life Cycle Propagation. FRONTIERS IN TROPICAL DISEASES 2021; 2:713123. [PMID: 36389622 PMCID: PMC7613829 DOI: 10.3389/fitd.2021.713123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Schistosomiasis, the most important helminthic disease of humanity, is caused by infection with parasitic flatworms of the genus Schistosoma. The disease is driven by parasite eggs becoming trapped in host tissues, followed by inflammation and granuloma formation. Despite abundant transcriptome data for most developmental stages of the three main human-infective schistosome species—Schistosoma mansoni, S. japonicum and S. haematobium—the transcriptomic profiles of developing eggs remain under unexplored. In this study, we performed RNAseq of S. mansoni eggs laid in vitro during early and late embryogenesis, days 1-3 and 3-6 post-oviposition, respectively. Analysis of the transcriptomes identified hundreds of up-regulated genes during the later stage, including venom allergen-like (VAL) proteins, well-established host immunomodulators, and genes involved in organogenesis of the miracidium larva. In addition, the transcriptomes of the in vitro laid eggs were compared with existing publicly available RNA-seq datasets from S. mansoni eggs collected from the livers of rodent hosts. Analysis of enriched GO terms and pathway annotations revealed cell division and protein synthesis processes associated with early embryogenesis, whereas cellular metabolic processes, microtubule-based movement, and microtubule cytoskeleton organization were enriched in the later developmental time point. This is the first transcriptomic analysis of S. mansoni embryonic development, and will facilitate our understanding of infection pathogenesis, miracidial development and life cycle progression of schistosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhigang Lu
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | | | - Kate A. Rawlinson
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | - Victoria Offord
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | - Paul J. Brindley
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Tropical Medicine, and Research Center for Neglected Diseases of Poverty, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Matthew Berriman
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | - Gabriel Rinaldi
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom
- Correspondence: Gabriel Rinaldi,
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16
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Hagerty JR, Kim HC, Jolly ER. Multiomic analysis of Schistosoma mansoni reveals unique expression profiles in cercarial heads and tails. Commun Biol 2021; 4:860. [PMID: 34253841 PMCID: PMC8275615 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02366-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Schistosomes require both molluscan and mammalian hosts for development. The larval cercaria exits the snail host and swims to identify and invade the mammalian host. The cercaria has two macrostructures, the head and the tail. The head invades the host, where it matures into an adult worm. The tail is lost after host invasion. Translation in the cercaria differs in each macrostructure, with higher levels of translation in the cercarial tail and little to no translational activity in the cercarial head. We compared the transcriptome and proteome of the cercarial head and tail and observed stark differences between the two macrostructures. We identified unique and differentially expressed transcripts and proteins, including ribosomal components expressed in higher levels in tails than in heads, which may explain the differences in translation levels between heads and tails. We also characterized the weak correlation between transcription and translation in infectious cercarial heads and tails.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R Hagerty
- Case Western Reserve University, Department of Biology, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Hyung Chul Kim
- Case Western Reserve University, Department of Biology, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Emmitt R Jolly
- Case Western Reserve University, Department of Biology, Cleveland, OH, USA.
- Case Western Reserve University, Center for Global Health and Disease, Cleveland, OH, USA.
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17
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Philippsen GS. Transposable Elements in the Genome of Human Parasite Schistosoma mansoni: A Review. Trop Med Infect Dis 2021; 6:tropicalmed6030126. [PMID: 34287380 PMCID: PMC8293314 DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed6030126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2021] [Revised: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) are DNA sequences able to transpose within the host genome and, consequently, influence the dynamics of evolution in the species. Among the possible effects, TEs insertions may alter the expression and coding patterns of genes, leading to genomic innovations. Gene-duplication events, resulting from DNA segmental duplication induced by TEs transposition, constitute another important mechanism that contributes to the plasticity of genomes. This review aims to cover the current knowledge regarding TEs in the genome of the parasite Schistosoma mansoni, an agent of schistosomiasis-a neglected tropical disease affecting at least 250 million people worldwide. In this context, the literature concerning TEs description and TEs impact on the genomic architecture for S. mansoni was revisited, displaying evidence of TEs influence on schistosome speciation-mediated by bursts of transposition-and in gene-duplication events related to schistosome-host coevolution processes, as well several instances of TEs contribution into the coding sequences of genes. These findings indicate the relevant role of TEs in the evolution of the S. mansoni genome.
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18
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Barbosa MMF, Kanno AI, Pancakova V, Gonçalves VM, Malley R, Faria LP, Leite LCC. Optimization of Expression and Purification of Schistosoma mansoni Antigens in Fusion with Rhizavidin. Mol Biotechnol 2021; 63:983-991. [PMID: 34165770 PMCID: PMC8223184 DOI: 10.1007/s12033-021-00355-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Accepted: 06/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Schistosomiasis causes significant morbidity and mortality. Vaccine efforts to date indicate the need to increase the immunogenicity of Schistosoma antigens. The multiple antigen-presenting system, whereby proteins are genetically fused to rhizavidin and affinity linked to biotinylated templates, enables the generation of robust immune responses. The objective of this work was to express and purify the S. mansoni antigens, SmTSP-2 and SmCD59.2, in fusion with rhizavidin. The fusion with rhizavidin greatly decreased the expression level of rSmTSP-2, but not rSmCD59.2, and both were expressed in the insoluble fraction, requiring optimization of culture conditions. Evaluation of different E. coli strains and media showed that BL21-DE3 cultured in Terrific Broth provided the highest expression levels of both proteins. Investigation of a range of time and temperature of induction showed that E. coli strains expressing rRzv:SmTSP-2 and rRzv:SmCD59.2 showed the highest protein production at 23 °C for 15 h. Recombinant proteins were purified by a single step of affinity chromatography allowing isolation of these proteins in high concentration and purity. The optimization process increased final soluble protein yield of rRzv:SmTSP-2 by fourfold and rRzv:SmCD59.2 by tenfold, providing ~ 20 mg/L of each protein. Optimized fusion protein production will allow antigen use in biotin–rhizavidin affinity platforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mayra M F Barbosa
- Laboratório de Desenvolvimento de Vacinas, Instituto Butantan, Av. Vital Brasil 1500, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação Interunidades em Biotecnologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Alex I Kanno
- Laboratório de Desenvolvimento de Vacinas, Instituto Butantan, Av. Vital Brasil 1500, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
| | - Violeta Pancakova
- Laboratório de Desenvolvimento de Vacinas, Instituto Butantan, Av. Vital Brasil 1500, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.,UnivLyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL1), 69100, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Viviane M Gonçalves
- Laboratório de Desenvolvimento de Vacinas, Instituto Butantan, Av. Vital Brasil 1500, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
| | - Richard Malley
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, USA
| | - Leonardo P Faria
- Laboratório de Biomarcadores e Inflamação, Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
| | - Luciana C C Leite
- Laboratório de Desenvolvimento de Vacinas, Instituto Butantan, Av. Vital Brasil 1500, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
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19
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Farias LP, Vance GM, Coulson PS, Vitoriano-Souza J, Neto APDS, Wangwiwatsin A, Neves LX, Castro-Borges W, McNicholas S, Wilson KS, Leite LCC, Wilson RA. Epitope Mapping of Exposed Tegument and Alimentary Tract Proteins Identifies Putative Antigenic Targets of the Attenuated Schistosome Vaccine. Front Immunol 2021; 11:624613. [PMID: 33763055 PMCID: PMC7982949 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.624613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The radiation-attenuated cercarial vaccine remains the gold standard for the induction of protective immunity against Schistosoma mansoni. Furthermore, the protection can be passively transferred to naïve recipient mice from multiply vaccinated donors, especially IFNgR KO mice. We have used such sera versus day 28 infection serum, to screen peptide arrays and identify likely epitopes that mediate the protection. The arrays encompassed 55 secreted or exposed proteins from the alimentary tract and tegument, the principal interfaces with the host bloodstream. The proteins were printed onto glass slides as overlapping 15mer peptides, reacted with primary and secondary antibodies, and reactive regions detected using an Agilent array scanner. Pep Slide Analyzer software provided a numerical value above background for each peptide from which an aggregate score could be derived for a putative epitope. The reactive regions of 26 proteins were mapped onto crystal structures using the CCP4 molecular graphics, to aid selection of peptides with the greatest accessibility and reactivity, prioritizing vaccine over infection serum. A further eight MEG proteins were mapped to regions conserved between family members. The result is a list of priority peptides from 44 proteins for further investigation in multiepitope vaccine constructs and as targets of monoclonal antibodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo P. Farias
- Laboratório de Desenvolvimento de Vacinas, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Gillian M. Vance
- York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Patricia S. Coulson
- York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | | | - Almiro Pires da Silva Neto
- Laboratório de Inflamação e Biomarcadores, Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Salvador, Brazil
| | - Arporn Wangwiwatsin
- Parasite Genomics, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Leandro Xavier Neves
- Instituto de Ciẽncias Exatas e Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
| | - William Castro-Borges
- Instituto de Ciẽncias Exatas e Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
| | - Stuart McNicholas
- York Structural Biology Laboratory, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Keith S. Wilson
- York Structural Biology Laboratory, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Luciana C. C. Leite
- Laboratório de Desenvolvimento de Vacinas, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - R. Alan Wilson
- York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, United Kingdom
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20
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Epigenetic Markers Associated with Schistosomiasis. Helminthologia 2021; 58:28-40. [PMID: 33664616 PMCID: PMC7912237 DOI: 10.2478/helm-2021-0009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
It is important to consider the use of the epigenome as source of complementary data for genome knowledge, which is suitable for the diagnosis of schistosomiasis. Usually, a laboratory diagnosis of schistosomiasis is performed by means of 1. Egg detection in the stool or urine by microscopy remains with limited sensitivity; 2. Immunological screening, in which positivity persists after treatment, and 3. Molecular appraisals prevail over the disadvantages of the currently used methods. In this sense, molecular methodologies are being developed based on epigenetic biomarkers, aiming to improve the diagnosis of the disease and clinical treatment as early as possible to prevent the occurrence of serious liver damage.
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21
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Bertevello CR, Russo BRA, Tahira AC, Lopes-Junior EH, DeMarco R, Oliveira KC. The evolution of TNF signaling in platyhelminths suggests the cooptation of TNF receptor in the host-parasite interplay. Parasit Vectors 2020; 13:491. [PMID: 32977830 PMCID: PMC7519573 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-020-04370-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The TNF signaling pathway is involved in the regulation of many cellular processes (such as apoptosis and cell proliferation). Previous reports indicated the effect of human TNF-α on metabolism, physiology, gene expression and protein phosphorylation of the human parasite Schistosoma mansoni and suggested that its TNF receptor was responsible for this response. The lack of an endogenous TNF ligand reinforced the idea of the use of an exogenous ligand, but also opens the possibility that the receptor actually binds a non-canonical ligand, as observed for NGFRs. METHODS To obtain a more comprehensive view, we analyzed platyhelminth genomes deposited in the Wormbase ParaSite database to investigate the presence of TNF receptors and their respective ligands. Using different bioinformatics approaches, such as HMMer and BLAST search tools we identified and characterized the sequence of TNF receptors and ligand homologs. We also used bioinformatics resources for the identification of conserved protein domains and Bayesian inference for phylogenetic analysis. RESULTS Our analyses indicate the presence of 31 TNF receptors in 30 platyhelminth species. All platyhelminths display a single TNF receptor, and all are structurally remarkably similar to NGFR. It suggests no events of duplication and diversification occurred in this phylum, with the exception of a single species-specific duplication. Interestingly, we also identified TNF ligand homologs in five species of free-living platyhelminths. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that the TNF receptor from platyhelminths may be able to bind canonical TNF ligands, thus strengthening the idea that these receptors are able to bind human TNF-α. This also raises the hypothesis that an endogenous ligand was substituted by the host ligand in parasitic platyhelminths. Moreover, our analysis indicates that death domains (DD) may be present in the intracellular region of most platyhelminth TNF receptors, thus pointing to a previously unreported apoptotic action of such receptors in platyhelminths. Our data highlight the idea that host-parasite crosstalk using the TNF pathway may be widespread in parasitic platyhelminths to mediate apoptotic responses. This opens up a new hypothesis to uncover what might be an important component to understand platyhelminth infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio R Bertevello
- Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Bruno R A Russo
- Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ana C Tahira
- Departamento de Psiquiatria, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ednilson Hilário Lopes-Junior
- Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ricardo DeMarco
- Instituto de Física de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Katia C Oliveira
- Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
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22
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Wangwiwatsin A, Protasio AV, Wilson S, Owusu C, Holroyd NE, Sanders MJ, Keane J, Doenhoff MJ, Rinaldi G, Berriman M. Transcriptome of the parasitic flatworm Schistosoma mansoni during intra-mammalian development. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020; 14:e0007743. [PMID: 32374726 PMCID: PMC7263636 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Revised: 06/01/2020] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Schistosomes are parasitic blood flukes that survive for many years within the mammalian host vasculature. How the parasites establish a chronic infection in the hostile bloodstream environment, whilst evading the host immune response is poorly understood. The parasite develops morphologically and grows as it migrates to its preferred vascular niche, avoiding or repairing damage from the host immune system. In this study, we investigated temporal changes in gene expression during the intra-mammalian development of Schistosoma mansoni. RNA-seq data were analysed from parasites developing in the lung through to egg-laying mature adult worms, providing a comprehensive picture of in vivo intra-mammalian development. Remarkably, genes involved in signalling pathways, developmental control, and adaptation to oxidative stress were up-regulated in the lung stage. The data also suggested a potential role in immune evasion for a previously uncharacterised gene. This study not only provides a large and comprehensive data resource for the research community, but also reveals new directions for further characterising host-parasite interactions that could ultimately lead to new control strategies for this neglected tropical disease pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arporn Wangwiwatsin
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
| | - Anna V. Protasio
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom
- Department of Pathology, Tennis Court Road, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Shona Wilson
- Department of Pathology, Tennis Court Road, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Christian Owusu
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | - Nancy E. Holroyd
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | - Mandy J. Sanders
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | - Jacqueline Keane
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | - Mike J. Doenhoff
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Gabriel Rinaldi
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew Berriman
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom
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23
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Mambelli F, Figueiredo B, Morais S, Assis N, Fonseca C, Oliveira S. Recombinant micro-exon gene 3 (MEG-3) antigens from Schistosoma mansoni failed to induce protection against infection but show potential for serological diagnosis. Acta Trop 2020; 204:105356. [PMID: 32001249 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2020.105356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Revised: 01/21/2020] [Accepted: 01/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Sequence databases on Schistosoma mansoni have revealed micro-exon gene (MEGs) families. Many of these genes are highly expressed in parasite life cycle stages associated with the mammalian host infection and appear to be involved in immune evasion by schistosomes. So, we believe that MEG-coding proteins would make potential candidates for vaccine development or diagnosis for schistosomiasis. Here, we study MEG-3.2 and MEG-3.4, members of the MEG-3 family. Recombinant (r) proteins were produced and formulated with Freund's adjuvant for vaccination of mice. Immunization with recombinant MEG-3.2 or MEG-3.4 formulation generated high levels of IgG1 antibodies. Additionally, vaccination also induced a mixed Th1/Th2/Th17-type of response, since IFN-γ, IL-5 and IL-17 cytokines were detected in the supernatant of spleen cell cultures; however it failed to induce reduction in parasitic worm burden. Finally, the recombinant proteins were evaluated in a serological assay using human samples. Schistosome-infected individuals showed higher levels of both IgG and IgM against rMEG-3.2 compared to non-infected individuals, while only IgM anti-rMEG-3.4 antibodies were elevated in infected patients. Therefore, between both studied molecules, MEG-3.2 protein is the antigen that shows potential to compose a serological diagnosis test for schistosomiasis.
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24
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Lobo-Silva J, Cabral FJ, Amaral MS, Miyasato PA, de Freitas RP, Pereira ASA, Khouri MI, Barbosa MMF, Ramos PIP, Leite LCC, Asojo OA, Nakano E, Verjovski-Almeida S, Farias LP. The antischistosomal potential of GSK-J4, an H3K27 demethylase inhibitor: insights from molecular modeling, transcriptomics and in vitro assays. Parasit Vectors 2020; 13:140. [PMID: 32178714 PMCID: PMC7077139 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-020-4000-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2019] [Accepted: 02/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Schistosomiasis chemotherapy is largely based on praziquantel (PZQ). Although PZQ is very safe and tolerable, it does not prevent reinfection and emerging resistance is a primary concern. Recent studies have shown that the targeting of epigenetic machinery in Schistosoma mansoni may result in severe alterations in parasite development, leading to death. This new route for drug discovery in schistosomiasis has focused on classes of histone deacetylases (HDACs) and histone acetyltransferases (HATs) as epigenetic drug targets. Schistosoma histone demethylases also seem to be important in the transition of cercariae into schistosomula, as well as sexual differentiation in adult worms. Methods The Target-Pathogen database and molecular docking assays were used to prioritize the druggability of S. mansoni histone demethylases. The transcription profile of Smp_03400 was re-analyzed using available databases. The effect of GSK-J4 inhibitor in schistosomula and adult worms’ motility/viability/oviposition was assessed by in vitro assays. Ultrastructural analysis was performed on adult worms exposed to GSK-J4 by scanning electron microscopy, while internal structures and muscle fiber integrity was investigated by confocal microscopy after Langeronʼs carmine or phalloidin staining. Results The present evaluation of the potential druggability of 14 annotated S. mansoni demethylase enzymes identified the S. mansoni ortholog of human KDM6A/UTX (Smp_034000) as the most suitable druggable target. In silico analysis and molecular modeling indicated the potential for cofactor displacement by the chemical probe GSK-J4. Our re-analysis of transcriptomic data revealed that Smp_034000 expression peaks at 24 h in newly transformed schistosomula and 5-week-old adult worms. Moreover, this gene was highly expressed in the testes of mature male worms compared to the rest of the parasite body. In in vitro schistosome cultures, treatment with GSK-J4 produced striking effects on schistosomula mortality and adult worm motility and mortality, as well as egg oviposition, in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Unexpectedly, western blot assays did not demonstrate overall modulation of H3K27me3 levels in response to GSK-J4. Confocal and scanning electron microscopy revealed the loss of original features in muscle fibers and alterations in cell-cell contact following GSK-J4 treatment. Conclusions GSK-J4 presents promising potential for antischistosomal control; however, the underlying mechanisms warrant further investigation.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Lobo-Silva
- Laboratório de Biomarcadores e Inflamação, Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
| | - Fernanda J Cabral
- Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Murilo S Amaral
- Laboratório de Expressão Gênica em Eucariotos, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | | | | | - Adriana S A Pereira
- Laboratório de Expressão Gênica em Eucariotos, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.,Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Mariana I Khouri
- Laboratório de Biomarcadores e Inflamação, Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
| | - Mayra M F Barbosa
- Laboratório Especial de Desenvolvimento de Vacinas, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Pablo I P Ramos
- Centro de Integração de Dados e Conhecimentos para Saúde (CIDACS), Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
| | - Luciana C C Leite
- Laboratório Especial de Desenvolvimento de Vacinas, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Oluwatoyin A Asojo
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Hampton University, Hampton, VA, USA
| | - Eliana Nakano
- Laboratório de Parasitologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Sergio Verjovski-Almeida
- Laboratório de Expressão Gênica em Eucariotos, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.,Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Leonardo P Farias
- Laboratório de Biomarcadores e Inflamação, Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
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25
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Limpanont Y, Phuphisut O, Reamtong O, Adisakwattana P. Recent advances in Schistosoma mekongi ecology, transcriptomics and proteomics of relevance to snail control. Acta Trop 2020; 202:105244. [PMID: 31669533 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2019.105244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2019] [Revised: 10/21/2019] [Accepted: 10/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Mekong schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma mekongi is a public health problem that occurs along the border between southern Laos and northern Cambodia. Given its restricted distribution and low prevalence, eventual eradication via an effective control program can be expected to be successful. To achieve this goal detailed knowledge of its basic biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, and pathology is urgently required. In this regard, recent studies on transcriptome analysis of adult male and female S. mekongi worms, and proteome analysis of developmental stages have been reported and are discussed here. The biology, habitat, and distribution of the snail intermediate host Neotricula aperta, which are factors in disease transmission, are discussed in this review. These have initiated renewed interest in S. mekongi research and contributed promising data that will be utilized in the generation of effective control and prevention strategies.
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26
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Buddenborg SK, Kamel B, Bu L, Zhang SM, Mkoji GM, Loker ES. Transcriptional responses of Biomphalaria pfeifferi and Schistosoma mansoni following exposure to niclosamide, with evidence for a synergistic effect on snails following exposure to both stressors. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019; 13:e0006927. [PMID: 31841501 PMCID: PMC6936870 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2018] [Revised: 12/30/2019] [Accepted: 11/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schistosomiasis is one of the world's most common NTDs. Successful control operations often target snail vectors with the molluscicide niclosamide. Little is known about how niclosamide affects snails, including for Biomphalaria pfeifferi, the most important vector for Schistosoma mansoni in Africa. We used Illumina technology to explore how field-derived B. pfeifferi, either uninfected or harboring cercariae-producing S. mansoni sporocysts, respond to a sublethal treatment of niclosamide. This study afforded the opportunity to determine if snails respond differently to biotic or abiotic stressors, and if they reserve unique responses for when presented with both stressors in combination. We also examined how sporocysts respond when their snail host is treated with niclosamide. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Cercariae-producing sporocysts within snails treated with niclosamide express ~68% of the genes in the S. mansoni genome, as compared to 66% expressed by intramolluscan stages of S. mansoni in snails not treated with niclosamide. Niclosamide does not disable sporocysts nor does it seem to provoke from them distinctive responses associated with detoxifying a xenobiotic. For uninfected B. pfeifferi, niclosamide treatment alone increases expression of several features not up-regulated in infected snails including particular cytochrome p450s and heat shock proteins, glutathione-S-transferases, antimicrobial factors like LBP/BPI and protease inhibitors, and also provokes strong down regulation of proteases. Exposure of infected snails to niclosamide resulted in numerous up-regulated responses associated with apoptosis along with down-regulated ribosomal and defense functions, indicative of a distinctive, compromised state not achieved with either stimulus alone. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE This study helps define the transcriptomic responses of an important and under-studied schistosome vector to S. mansoni sporocysts, to niclosamide, and to both in combination. It suggests the response of S. mansoni sporocysts to niclosamide is minimal and not reflective of a distinct repertoire of genes to handle xenobiotics while in the snail host. It also offers new insights for how niclosamide affects snails.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah K. Buddenborg
- Department of Biology, Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM United States of America
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton United Kingdom
| | - Bishoy Kamel
- Department of Biology, Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM United States of America
| | - Lijing Bu
- Department of Biology, Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM United States of America
| | - Si-Ming Zhang
- Department of Biology, Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM United States of America
| | - Gerald M. Mkoji
- Center for Biotechnology Research and Development, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi KEN
| | - Eric S. Loker
- Department of Biology, Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM United States of America
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27
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Hagerty JR, Jolly ER. Heads or tails? Differential translational regulation in cercarial heads and tails of schistosome worms. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0224358. [PMID: 31658287 PMCID: PMC6816793 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0224358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2019] [Accepted: 10/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Schistosomes are obligate helminths responsible for over 218 million cases of human schistosomiasis in 78 countries around the world. Infection occurs when free-swimming cercariae penetrate human skin and initiate developmental progression into parasitic obligate worms that consume red blood cells. Transcriptomic studies of infectious cercariae reveal abundant mRNAs associated with energy metabolism and host invasion. However, the cercaria is mostly transcriptionally quiescent, suggesting that most mRNAs are primed prior to cercarial escape from the snail host. The use of transcriptomics to understand protein expression presumes that transcription and translation are functionally coupled and the cercarial stage has categorically been treated as a single unit for -omic analysis. Per contra, the relationship between transcription and translation in infectious cercariae has not been described. To understand the correlation between transcription and translation in cercariae, we separately measured nascent translation levels in cercarial heads, cercarial tails and in the developing schistosomula, the next stage of its life cycle. The loss of the cercarial tail is essential for the transformation from a cercaria to a schistosomulum. We observed that translation was initially limited and the translation rate accelerated during the first 72-hours after tail loss. When we tested nascent translation in cercarial heads, cercarial tails, whole cercariae, and 4-hour schistosomula, we found that translation is significantly upregulated in the cercarial tail when compared to the cercarial head and that translation was undetectable in heads using immunofluorescent image quantification (p = .0005). These data represent a major shift in how we understand the cercarial stage. The cercarial head is mostly transcriptionally and translationally quiescent while being sufficient for progression into a schistosomulum. In addition, transcription and translation are not linked in Schistosoma mansoni cercaria. Thus, our current conceptual approach of treating the cercaria as a single functional unit for -omic studies may be insufficient to understand cercarial development.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R. Hagerty
- Case Western Reserve University, Department of Biology, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
| | - Emmitt R. Jolly
- Case Western Reserve University, Department of Biology, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
- Case Western Reserve University, Center for Global Health and Disease, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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28
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Buddenborg SK, Kamel B, Hanelt B, Bu L, Zhang SM, Mkoji GM, Loker ES. The in vivo transcriptome of Schistosoma mansoni in the prominent vector species Biomphalaria pfeifferi with supporting observations from Biomphalaria glabrata. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019; 13:e0007013. [PMID: 31568484 PMCID: PMC6797213 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2018] [Revised: 10/17/2019] [Accepted: 08/06/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The full scope of the genes expressed by schistosomes during intramolluscan development has yet to be characterized. Understanding the gene products deployed by larval schistosomes in their snail hosts will provide insights into their establishment, maintenance, asexual reproduction, ability to castrate their hosts, and their prolific production of human-infective cercariae. Using the Illumina platform, the intramolluscan transcriptome of Schistosoma mansoni was investigated in field-derived specimens of the prominent vector species Biomphalaria pfeifferi at 1 and 3 days post infection (d) and from snails shedding cercariae. These S. mansoni samples were derived from the same snails used in our complementary B. pfeifferi transcriptomic study. We supplemented this view with microarray analyses of S. mansoni from B. glabrata at 2d, 4d, 8d, 16d, and 32d to highlight robust features of S. mansoni transcription, even when a different technique and vector species was used. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Transcripts representing at least 7,740 (66%) of known S. mansoni genes were expressed during intramolluscan development, with the greatest number expressed in snails shedding cercariae. Many transcripts were constitutively expressed throughout development featuring membrane transporters, and metabolic enzymes involved in protein and nucleic acid synthesis and cell division. Several proteases and protease inhibitors were expressed at all stages, including some proteases usually associated with cercariae. Transcripts associated with G-protein coupled receptors, germ cell perpetuation, and stress responses and defense were well represented. We noted transcripts homologous to planarian anti-bacterial factors, several neural development or neuropeptide transcripts including neuropeptide Y, and receptors that may be associated with schistosome germinal cell maintenance that could also impact host reproduction. In at least one snail the presence of larvae of another digenean species (an amphistome) was associated with repressed S. mansoni transcriptional activity. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE This in vivo study, emphasizing field-derived snails and schistosomes, but supplemented with observations from a lab model, provides a distinct view from previous studies of development of cultured intramolluscan stages from lab-maintained organisms. We found many highly represented transcripts with suspected or unknown functions, with connection to intramolluscan development yet to be elucidated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah K. Buddenborg
- Department of Biology, Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States of America
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Bishoy Kamel
- Department of Biology, Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States of America
| | - Ben Hanelt
- Department of Biology, Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States of America
| | - Lijing Bu
- Department of Biology, Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States of America
| | - Si-Ming Zhang
- Department of Biology, Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States of America
| | - Gerald M. Mkoji
- Center for Biotechnology Research and Development, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairob,i Kenya
| | - Eric S. Loker
- Department of Biology, Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States of America
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Elhag M, Alaagib RM, Haroun EM, Ahmed NM, Albagi SOA, Hassan MA. Immunoinformatics Prediction of Epitope Based Peptide Vaccine Against Schistosoma Mansoni Fructose Bisphosphate Aldolase Protein.. [DOI: 10.1101/755959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
AbstractSchistosoma Mansonirepresents an important tropical disease that can cause schistosomiasis mostly in Africa and Middle East with high mortality rates. Moreover, no vaccine against it exists. This study predicts an effective epitope-based vaccine against Fructose 1,6 Bisphosphate Aldolase (FBA) enzyme of Schistosoma Mansoni using immunoinformatics approaches. FBA is important for production of energy required for different schistosome activities and survival. The sequences were retrieved from NCBI and several prediction tests were conducted to analyze possible epitopes for B-cell, T-cell MHC class I and II. Tertiary structure of the most promising epitopes was obtained. Two epitopes showed high binding affinity for B-cells, while four epitopes showed high binding affinity for MHCI and MHCII. The results were promising to formulate a vaccine with more than 99.5% population coverage. We hope that these promising epitopes serves as a preventive measure for the disease in the future and recommend invivo and invitro studies.
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30
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Lu Z, Spänig S, Weth O, Grevelding CG. Males, the Wrongly Neglected Partners of the Biologically Unprecedented Male-Female Interaction of Schistosomes. Front Genet 2019; 10:796. [PMID: 31552097 PMCID: PMC6743411 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2019] [Accepted: 07/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Schistosomes are the only platyhelminths that have evolved separate sexes, and they exhibit a unique reproductive biology because the female’s sexual maturation depends on a constant pairing contact with the male. In the female, pairing leads to gonad differentiation, which is associated with substantial morphological changes, and controls among others the expression of gonad-associated genes. In the male, no morphological changes have been observed after pairing, although first data indicated an effect of pairing on gene transcription. Comprehensive transcriptomic approaches have revealed an unexpected high number of genes that are differentially transcribed in the male after pairing. Their identities suggest roles for the male that are not restricted to feeding and enhanced muscular power to transport paired female and, as assumed before, to induce its sexual maturation by one “magic” factor. Instead, a more complex picture emerges in which both partners live in a reciprocal sender-recipient relationship that not only affects the gonads of both genders but may also involve tactile stimuli, transforming growth factor β signaling, nutritional parts, and neuronal processes, including neuropeptides and G protein-coupled receptor signaling. This review provides a summary of transcriptomics including an overview of genes expressed in a pairing-dependent manner in schistosome males. This may stimulate further research in understanding the role of the male as the recipient of the female’s signals upon pairing, the male’s “capacitation,” and its subsequent competence as a sender of information. The latter process finally transforms a sexually immature, autonomous female without completely developed gonads into a sexually mature, partially non-autonomous female with fully differentiated gonads and enormous egg production capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhigang Lu
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom.,Insitute for Parasitology, BFS, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Sebastian Spänig
- Department of Mathematics & Computer Science, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Oliver Weth
- Insitute for Parasitology, BFS, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
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31
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Wu W, LoVerde PT. Nuclear hormone receptors in parasitic Platyhelminths. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2019; 233:111218. [PMID: 31470045 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2019.111218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Revised: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 08/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Nuclear receptors (NRs) belong to a large protein superfamily which includes intracellular receptors for secreted hydrophobic signal molecules, such as steroid hormones and thyroid hormones. They regulate development and reproduction in metazoans by binding to the promoter region of their target gene to activate or repress mRNA synthesis. Isolation and characterization of NRs in the parasitic trematode Schistosoma mansoni identified two homologues of mammalian thyroid receptor (TR). This was the first known protostome exhibiting TR homologues. Three novel NRs each possess a novel set of two DNA binding domains (DBD) in tandem with a ligand binding domain (LBD) (2DBD-NRs) isolated in Schistosoma mansoni revealed a novel NR modular structure: A/B-DBD-DBD-hinge-LBD. Full length cDNA of several NRs have been isolated and studied in the parasitic trematodes S. mansoni, S. japonicum and in the cestode Echinococcus multilocularis. The genome of the blood flukes S. mansoni, S. japonicum and S. haematobium, the liver fluke Clonorchis sinensis and the cestode Echinococcus multilocularis have been sequenced. Study of the NR complement in parasitic Platyhelminths will help us to understand the role of NRs in regulation of their development and understand the evolution of NR in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjie Wu
- Departments of Biochemistry and Structural Biology and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio, TX, 78229-3800, USA
| | - Philip T LoVerde
- Departments of Biochemistry and Structural Biology and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio, TX, 78229-3800, USA.
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32
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Guo J, Sun Y, Luo X, Li M, He P, He L, Zhao J. De novo transcriptome sequencing and comparative analysis of Haemaphysalis flava Neumann, 1897 at larvae and nymph stages. INFECTION GENETICS AND EVOLUTION 2019; 75:104008. [PMID: 31437557 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2019.104008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Revised: 08/11/2019] [Accepted: 08/16/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Haemaphysalis flava Neumann, 1897 (H. flava) is of public health significance due to its capability of transmitting several pathogens such as Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, Bartonella and Francisella tularensis. However, lack of complete genome, transcriptome and proteome information limits the understanding of the biology of H. flava. Here, the total RNA of H. flava was collected separately at larvae and nymph stages and analyzed with high-throughput RNA sequencing technology. The obtained data were assembled and annotated based on the near origin species in the Nr database. The functions of the unigenes were annotated and classified by seven databases, including Nr, Nt, Pfam, KOG, Swiss-Prot, GO and KEGG. A total of 61,850,967 and 79,579,368 clean reads were obtained with a data bulk of 9.28 G and 11.94 G in larvae and nymph stages, respectively. The number of unigenes was 440,896, with 48.6% of them being matched to the Nr database and 51.4% remaining unknown. Additionally, 1,776,404 SNPs were identified in the unigenes. Differential analysis revealed 80 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 56 up-regulated genes and 24 down-regulated genes in the nymph versus larvae. qPCR confirmed 4 of the 56 up-regulated genes and 4 of the down-regulated genes. KEGG analysis of the DEGs showed that aldehyde dehydrogenase and sorbitol dehydrogenase, two up-regulated unigenes in nymph versus larvae, were both matched to the top three enriched pathways: "chloroalkane and chloroalkene degradation", "fatty acid degradation" and "glycolysis and gluconeogenesis". This is the first report on the whole transcriptome of H. flava at larvae and nymph stages. This study contributes to the understanding of H. flava at the gene expression level in different developmental stages and provides a theoretical basis for the development of vaccines against H. flava.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaying Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Yali Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Xiaoying Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Muxiao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Pei He
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Lan He
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemical Disease and Infectious Zoonoses, Ministry of Agriculture, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China.
| | - Junlong Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemical Disease and Infectious Zoonoses, Ministry of Agriculture, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China.
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In silico epitope identification of unique multidrug resistance proteins from Salmonella Typhi for vaccine development. Comput Biol Chem 2019; 78:74-80. [DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2018.11.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2018] [Revised: 10/14/2018] [Accepted: 11/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Sotillo J, Pearson MS, Loukas A. Trematode Genomics and Proteomics. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2019; 1154:411-436. [PMID: 31297769 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-18616-6_13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Trematode infections are among the most neglected tropical diseases despite their worldwide distribution and extraordinary ability to parasitise many different host species and host tissues. Furthermore, these parasites are of great socioeconomic, medical, veterinary and agricultural importance. During the last 10 years, there have been increasing efforts to overcome the lack of information on different "omic" resources such as proteomics and genomics. Herein, we focus on the recent advances in genomics and proteomics from trematodes of human importance, including liver, blood, intestinal and lung flukes. We also provide information on the latest technologies applied to study the biology of trematodes as well as on the resources available for the study of the molecular aspects of this group of helminths.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Sotillo
- Centre for Molecular Therapeutics, Australian Institute for Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, Australia.
| | - Mark S Pearson
- Centre for Molecular Therapeutics, Australian Institute for Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, Australia
| | - Alex Loukas
- Centre for Molecular Therapeutics, Australian Institute for Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, Australia
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A metalloprotease produced by larval Schistosoma mansoni facilitates infection establishment and maintenance in the snail host by interfering with immune cell function. PLoS Pathog 2018; 14:e1007393. [PMID: 30372490 PMCID: PMC6224180 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2018] [Revised: 11/08/2018] [Accepted: 10/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Metalloproteases (MPs) have demonstrated roles in immune modulation. In some cases, these enzymes are produced by parasites to influence host immune responses such that parasite infection is facilitated. One of the best examples of parasite-mediated immune modulation is the matrix metalloprotease (MMP) leishmanolysin (Gp63), which is produced by species of the genus Leishmania to evade killing by host macrophages. Leishmanolysin-like proteins appear to be quite common in many invertebrates, however our understanding of the functions of these non-leishmania enzymes is limited. Numerous proteomic and transcriptomic screens of schistosomes, at all life cycle stages of the parasite, have identified leishmanolysin-like MPs as being present in abundance; with the highest levels being found during the intramolluscan larval stages and being produced by cercaria. This study aims to functionally characterize a Schistosoma mansoni variant of leishmanolysin that most resembles the enzyme produced by Leishmania, termed SmLeish. We demonstrate that SmLeish is an important component of S. mansoni excretory/secretory (ES) products and is produced by the sporocyst during infection. The presence of SmLeish interferes with the migration of Biomphalaria glabrata haemocytes, and causes them to present a phenotype that is less capable of sporocyst encapsulation. Knockdown of SmLeish in S. mansoni miracidia prior to exposure to susceptible B. glabrata reduces miracidia penetration success, causes a delay in reaching patent infection, and lowers cercaria output from infected snails. Parasitic flatworms, or digenetic trematodes, cause a wide range of diseases of both medical and agricultural importance. Nearly all species of digenea require specific species of snail for their larval development and transmission. The factors underpinning snail host specificity and how they dictate infection establishment and maintenance are interesting areas of research, both from the perspective of evolutionary immunology and potential application in the design of tools that aim to prevent trematode transmission. Currently, our understanding of snail-trematode associations is one-sided, being predominantly derived from studies that have focused on the snail immune response, with almost nothing known about how the parasite facilitates infection. Metalloproteases, such as leishmanolysin, are proteolytic enzymes; some of which are produced by parasites to influence host immune responses and facilitate parasite success upon encountering the host defense response. Here, we have functionally characterized a leishmanolysin-like metalloprotease (SmLeish) from Schistosoma mansoni, a causative agent of human schistosomiasis, which afflicts over 260 million people globally. We demonstrate that SmLeish is associated with developing sporocysts and is also located in S. mansoni excretory/secretory products and interferes with snail haemocyte morphology and migration. Knockdown of SmLeish in S. mansoni miracidia prior to exposure to Biomphalaria glabrata snails reduces miracidia penetration success, delays attainment of patent infections, and lowers cercaria output from infected snails.
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Lopes MS, Suzuki BM, Pereira GADN, Probst AC, Ferreira RS, Oliveira JTD, Tecchio KB, Santos FVD, Caffrey CR, Oliveira RBD. Ortho-nitrobenzyl derivatives as potential anti-schistosomal agents. BRAZ J PHARM SCI 2018. [DOI: 10.1590/s2175-97902018000217376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
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Liao Q, Zhang Y, Zhu Y, Chen J, Dong C, Tao Y, He A, Liu J, Wu Z. Identification of long noncoding RNAs in Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma japonicum. Exp Parasitol 2018; 191:82-87. [PMID: 29981293 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2018.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2017] [Revised: 06/06/2018] [Accepted: 07/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Schistosomiasis is a major parasitic disease caused by 3 principal species of schistosome. Studies of schistosome transcriptomes have focused on protein-coding transcripts and although miRNAs are attracting increased attention, few reports have concerned the long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). These have been shown to play key roles in the regulation of gene expression through interactions with mRNAs, proteins and miRNAs. In this study, we first identified lncRNAs from RNA-seq data in Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma japonicum: 3247 and 3033 potential lncRNAs were found in these two species respectively. ChIP-seq analysis to determine H3K4me3 profiles along the gene regions corresponding to lncRNAs showed that in 12% of cases this mark was enriched in regions proximal to the transcription start sites, supporting their validity as actively transcribed genes. Besides, the sequence conservation of lncRNAs between schistosome species was much lower than that of mRNAs, but higher than that of the randomly selected genomic sequences, which is consistent with that in mammals. Our results demonstrate that lncRNAs form a significant part of the schistosome transcriptome and suggest that they play an important role in the biology of the parasite.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Liao
- Department of Preventative Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pathological and Physiological Technology, Medicial School of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuwei Zhang
- Department of Preventative Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pathological and Physiological Technology, Medicial School of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuchao Zhu
- Department of Preventative Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pathological and Physiological Technology, Medicial School of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Jia Chen
- Department of Parasitology, Medicial School of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Changzheng Dong
- Department of Preventative Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pathological and Physiological Technology, Medicial School of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Yang Tao
- Department of Preventative Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pathological and Physiological Technology, Medicial School of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Ai He
- Department of Parasitology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianfa Liu
- Department of Parasitology, Medicial School of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
| | - Zhongdao Wu
- Department of Parasitology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory for Tropical Diseases Control, The Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
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Li P, Rios Coronado PE, Longstaff XRR, Tarashansky AJ, Wang B. Nanomedicine Approaches Against Parasitic Worm Infections. Adv Healthc Mater 2018; 7:e1701494. [PMID: 29602254 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201701494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2017] [Revised: 02/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Nanomedicine approaches have the potential to transform the battle against parasitic worm (helminth) infections, a major global health scourge from which billions are currently suffering. It is anticipated that the intersection of two currently disparate fields, nanomedicine and helminth biology, will constitute a new frontier in science and technology. This progress report surveys current innovations in these research fields and discusses research opportunities. In particular, the focus is on: (1) major challenges that helminth infections impose on mankind; (2) key aspects of helminth biology that inform future research directions; (3) efforts to construct nanodelivery platforms to target drugs and genes to helminths hidden in their hosts; (4) attempts in applying nanotechnology to enable vaccination against helminth infections; (5) outlooks in utilizing nanoparticles to enhance immunomodulatory activities of worm-derived factors to cure allergy and autoimmune diseases. In each section, achievements are summarized, limitations are explored, and future directions are assessed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengyang Li
- Department of Bioengineering; Stanford University; Stanford CA 94305 USA
| | | | | | | | - Bo Wang
- Department of Bioengineering; Stanford University; Stanford CA 94305 USA
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Aguilar-Díaz H, Nava-Castro KE, Escobedo G, Domínguez-Ramírez L, García-Varela M, Del Río-Araiza VH, Palacios-Arreola MI, Morales-Montor J. A novel progesterone receptor membrane component (PGRMC) in the human and swine parasite Taenia solium: implications to the host-parasite relationship. Parasit Vectors 2018. [PMID: 29523160 PMCID: PMC5845172 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-018-2703-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background We have previously reported that progesterone (P4) has a direct in vitro effect on the scolex evagination and growth of Taenia solium cysticerci. Here, we explored the hypothesis that the P4 direct effect on T. solium might be mediated by a novel steroid-binding parasite protein. Methods By way of using immunofluorescent confocal microscopy, flow cytometry analysis, double-dimension electrophoresis analysis, and sequencing the corresponding protein spot, we detected a novel PGRMC in T. solium. Molecular modeling studies accompanied by computer docking using the sequenced protein, together with phylogenetic analysis and sequence alignment clearly demonstrated that T. solium PGRMC is from parasite origin. Results Our results show that P4 in vitro increases parasite evagination and scolex size. Using immunofluorescent confocal microscopy, we detected that parasite cells showed expression of a P4-binding like protein exclusively located at the cysticercus subtegumental tissue. Presence of the P4-binding protein in cyst cells was also confirmed by flow cytometry. Double-dimension electrophoresis analysis, followed by sequencing the corresponding protein spot, revealed a protein that was previously reported in the T. solium genome belonging to a membrane-associated progesterone receptor component (PGRMC). Molecular modeling studies accompanied by computer docking using the sequenced protein showed that PGRMC is potentially able to bind steroid hormones such as progesterone, estradiol, testosterone and dihydrodrotestosterone with different affinities. Phylogenetic analysis and sequence alignment clearly demonstrated that T. solium PGRMC is related to a steroid-binding protein of Echinoccocus granulosus, both of them being nested within a cluster including similar proteins present in platyhelminths such as Schistocephalus solidus and Schistosoma haematobium. Conclusion Progesterone may directly act upon T. solium cysticerci probably by binding to PGRMC. This research has implications in the field of host-parasite co-evolution as well as the sex-associated susceptibility to this infection. In a more practical matter, present results may contribute to the molecular design of new drugs with anti-parasite actions. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-018-2703-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugo Aguilar-Díaz
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Disciplinaria en Parasitología Veterinaria, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales Agrícolas y Pecuarias INIFAP, CP 62550, Jiutepec, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Karen E Nava-Castro
- Laboratorio de Genotoxicología y Medicina Ambientales. Departamento de.Ciencias Ambientales. Centro de Ciencias de la Atmósfera, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
| | - Galileo Escobedo
- Unidad de Medicina Experimental, Hospital General de México "Dr. Eduardo Liceaga", 06726, México DF, Mexico
| | - Lenin Domínguez-Ramírez
- Departamento de Ciencias Químico-Biológicas, Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Sta. Catarina Mártir, Cholula, C.P 72810, Puebla, Mexico
| | - Martín García-Varela
- Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, CP 04510, Ciudad de Mexico, DF, Mexico
| | - Víctor H Del Río-Araiza
- Departamento de Inmunología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, AP 70228, 04510, Ciudad de Mexico, DF, Mexico
| | - Margarita I Palacios-Arreola
- Departamento de Inmunología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, AP 70228, 04510, Ciudad de Mexico, DF, Mexico
| | - Jorge Morales-Montor
- Departamento de Inmunología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, AP 70228, 04510, Ciudad de Mexico, DF, Mexico.
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Diagnosis of schistosomiasis mansoni: an evaluation of existing methods and research towards single worm pair detection. Parasitology 2018; 145:1355-1366. [PMID: 29506583 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182018000240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The inadequacy of current diagnostics for the detection of low worm burdens in humans means that schistosomiasis mansoni is more widespread than previously acknowledged. With the inception of mass drug treatment programmes aimed at disease elimination and the advent of human vaccine trials, the need for more sensitive diagnostics is evident. In this review, we evaluate the merits and limitations of the principal diagnostic methods, namely detection of eggs in faeces; anti-schistosome antibodies in serum; parasite-derived proteins and glycans in serum or urine; parasite DNA in blood, faeces or urine. Only in the baboon model, where actual worm burden is determined by portal perfusion, have faecal smear and circulating antigen methods been calibrated, and shown to have thresholds of detection of 10-19 worm pairs. There is scope for improvement in all the four methods of detection, e.g. the identification of single targets for host antibodies to improve the specificity of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Despite recent advances in the definition of the schistosome secretome, there have been no comprehensive biomarker investigations of parasite products in the urine of infected patients. Certainly, the admirable goal of eliminating schistosomiasis will not be achieved unless individuals with low worm burdens can be diagnosed.
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Asojo OA, Darwiche R, Gebremedhin S, Smant G, Lozano-Torres JL, Drurey C, Pollet J, Maizels RM, Schneiter R, Wilbers RHP. Heligmosomoides polygyrus Venom Allergen-like Protein-4 (HpVAL-4) is a sterol binding protein. Int J Parasitol 2018; 48:359-369. [PMID: 29505764 PMCID: PMC5893428 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2018.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2017] [Revised: 12/07/2017] [Accepted: 01/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Heligmosomoides polygyrus Venom Allergen-like Protein-4 (HpVAL-4) was produced in plants as a glycosylated protein. The crystal structure of HpVAL-4 was solved and reveals three distinct cavities. These cavities are the central cavity; the sterol-binding caveolin-binding motif (CBM); and the palmitate-binding cavity. The central cavity of Hp-VAL-4 lacks the characteristic histidines that coordinate divalent cations. Hp-VAL-4 binds sterol in vivo and in vitro.
Heligmosomoides polygyrus bakeri is a model parasitic hookworm used to study animal and human helminth diseases. During infection, the parasite releases excretory/secretory products that modulate the immune system of the host. The most abundant protein family in excretory/secretory products comprises the venom allergen-like proteins (VALs), which are members of the SCP/TAPS (sperm-coating protein/Tpx/antigen 5/pathogenesis related-1/Sc7) superfamily. There are >30 secreted Heligmosomoides polygyrus VAL proteins (HpVALs) and these proteins are characterised by having either one or two 15 kDa CAP (cysteine-rich secretory protein (CRISP)/antigen 5/pathogenesis related-1) domains. The first known HpVAL structure, HpVAL-4, refined to 1.9 Å is reported. HpVAL-4 was produced as a homogeneously glycosylated protein in leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana infiltrated with recombinant plasmids, making this plant expression platform amenable for the production of biological products. The overall topology of HpVAL-4 is a three layered αβα sandwich between a short N-terminal loop and a C-terminal cysteine rich extension. The C-terminal cysteine rich extension has two strands stabilized by two disulfide bonds and superposes well with the previously reported extension from the human hookworm Necator americanus Ancylostoma secreted protein-2 (Na-ASP-2). The N-terminal loop is connected to alpha helix 2 via a disulfide bond previously observed in Na-ASP-2. HpVAL-4 has a central cavity that is more similar to the N-terminal CAP domain of the two CAP Na-ASP-1 from Necator americanus. Unlike Na-ASP-2, mammalian CRISP, and the C-terminal CAP domain of Na-ASP-1, the large central cavity of HpVAL-4 lacks the two histidines required to coordinate divalent cations. HpVAL-4 has both palmitate-binding and sterol-binding cavities and is able to complement the in vivo sterol export phenotype of yeast mutants lacking their endogenous CAP proteins. More studies are required to determine endogenous binding partners of HpVAL-4 and unravel the possible impact of sterol binding on immune-modulatory functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oluwatoyin A Asojo
- National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
| | - Rabih Darwiche
- Division of Biochemistry, Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 10, CH 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Selam Gebremedhin
- National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Geert Smant
- Laboratory of Nematology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jose L Lozano-Torres
- Laboratory of Nematology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Claire Drurey
- Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute for Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Sir Graeme Davies Building, 120 University Place, Glasgow G12 8TA, UK
| | - Jeroen Pollet
- National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Rick M Maizels
- Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute for Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Sir Graeme Davies Building, 120 University Place, Glasgow G12 8TA, UK
| | - Roger Schneiter
- Division of Biochemistry, Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 10, CH 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Ruud H P Wilbers
- Laboratory of Nematology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Taylor E, Heyland A. Evolution of thyroid hormone signaling in animals: Non-genomic and genomic modes of action. Mol Cell Endocrinol 2017; 459:14-20. [PMID: 28549993 DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2017.05.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2017] [Revised: 05/18/2017] [Accepted: 05/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Much research has focused on vertebrate thyroid hormone (TH) synthesis and their function in development and metabolism. While important differences in TH synthesis and signaling exist, comparative studies between vertebrates fail to explain the evolutionary origins of this important regulatory axis. For that, one needs to make sense out of the diverse TH effects which have been described in invertebrate phyla but for which a mechanistic understanding is largely missing. Almost every major group of non-vertebrate animals possesses the capability to synthesize and metabolize thyroid hormones and there is evidence for a nuclear thyroid hormone receptor mediated mechanism in the bilateria, especially in molluscs, echinoderms, cephalochordates and ascidians. Still, genomic pathways cannot fully explain many observed effects of thyroid hormones in groups such as cnidarians, molluscs, and echinoderms and it is therefore possible that TH may signal via other mechanisms, such as non-genomic signaling systems via membrane bound or cytoplasmic receptors. Here we provide a brief review of TH actions in selected invertebrate species and discuss the hypothesis that non-genomic TH action may have played a critical role in TH signaling throughout animal evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elias Taylor
- University of Guelph, Integrative Biology, Canada
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Schärer L. The varied ways of being male and female. Mol Reprod Dev 2017; 84:94-104. [PMID: 28032683 DOI: 10.1002/mrd.22775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2016] [Accepted: 12/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Our understanding of sexual reproduction is mainly informed by research on gonochorists (i.e., species with separate sexes), including insects, birds, and mammals. But the male and female sexes are not two types of individuals; they actually represent two different reproductive strategies, and in many organisms, these two strategies are distributed among individuals in a population in a variety of ways. For example, sequential hermaphrodites (or sex-changers) exhibit one strategy early in life and later switch to the other, while simultaneous hermaphrodites exhibit both strategies at the same time. There are also many intermediate sexual systems that mix gonochorists and hermaphrodites in the same species and within many organismal groups, shifts occur between these sexual systems. A fascinating collection of six articles in this special issue on Hermaphroditism & Sex Determination impressively documents some important challenges to our understanding of sex determination, and the specification of male and female reproductive function when these need to occur within the same individual rather than in two separate individuals. Moreover, hermaphroditism changes how we need to think about reproductive allocation to sexual functions, how such allocation can be specified, as well as how the sexual system affects sexual conflict and the resulting antagonistic coevolution. Our understanding of sexual reproduction will profit greatly from exploring the varied ways of being male and female. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 84: 94-104, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Schärer
- Evolutionary Biology, Zoological Institute, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
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Darwiche R, El Atab O, Cottier S, Schneiter R. The function of yeastCAPfamily proteins in lipid export, mating, and pathogen defense. FEBS Lett 2017; 592:1304-1311. [DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.12909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2017] [Revised: 11/03/2017] [Accepted: 11/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rabih Darwiche
- Division of Biochemistry Department of Biology University of Fribourg Switzerland
| | - Ola El Atab
- Division of Biochemistry Department of Biology University of Fribourg Switzerland
| | - Stéphanie Cottier
- Division of Biochemistry Department of Biology University of Fribourg Switzerland
| | - Roger Schneiter
- Division of Biochemistry Department of Biology University of Fribourg Switzerland
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Buddenborg SK, Bu L, Zhang SM, Schilkey FD, Mkoji GM, Loker ES. Transcriptomic responses of Biomphalaria pfeifferi to Schistosoma mansoni: Investigation of a neglected African snail that supports more S. mansoni transmission than any other snail species. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017; 11:e0005984. [PMID: 29045404 PMCID: PMC5685644 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0005984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2017] [Revised: 11/14/2017] [Accepted: 09/20/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Biomphalaria pfeifferi is highly compatible with the widespread human-infecting blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni and transmits more cases of this parasite to people than any other snail species. For these reasons, B. pfeifferi is the world's most important vector snail for S. mansoni, yet we know relatively little at the molecular level regarding the interactions between B. pfeifferi and S. mansoni from early-stage sporocyst transformation to the development of cercariae. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We sought to capture a portrait of the response of B. pfeifferi to S. mansoni as it occurs in nature by undertaking Illumina dual RNA-Seq on uninfected control B. pfeifferi and three intramolluscan developmental stages (1- and 3-days post infection and patent, cercariae-producing infections) using field-derived west Kenyan specimens. A high-quality, well-annotated de novo B. pfeifferi transcriptome was assembled from over a half billion non-S. mansoni paired-end reads. Reads associated with potential symbionts were noted. Some infected snails yielded fewer normalized S. mansoni reads and showed different patterns of transcriptional response than others, an indication that the ability of field-derived snails to support and respond to infection is variable. Alterations in transcripts associated with reproduction were noted, including for the oviposition-related hormone ovipostatin and enzymes involved in metabolism of bioactive amines like dopamine or serotonin. Shedding snails exhibited responses consistent with the need for tissue repair. Both generalized stress and immune factors immune factors (VIgLs, PGRPs, BGBPs, complement C1q-like, chitinases) exhibited complex transcriptional responses in this compatible host-parasite system. SIGNIFICANCE This study provides for the first time a large sequence data set to help in interpreting the important vector role of the neglected snail B. pfeifferi in transmission of S. mansoni, including with an emphasis on more natural, field-derived specimens. We have identified B. pfeifferi targets particularly responsive during infection that enable further dissection of the functional role of these candidate molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah K. Buddenborg
- Department of Biology, Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Lijing Bu
- Department of Biology, Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Si-Ming Zhang
- Department of Biology, Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Faye D. Schilkey
- National Center for Genome Resources, Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Gerald M. Mkoji
- Center for Biotechnology Research and Development, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, KEN
| | - Eric S. Loker
- Department of Biology, Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
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Morais ER, Oliveira KC, de Paula RG, Ornelas AMM, Moreira ÉBC, Badoco FR, Magalhães LG, Verjovski-Almeida S, Rodrigues V. Effects of proteasome inhibitor MG-132 on the parasite Schistosoma mansoni. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0184192. [PMID: 28898250 PMCID: PMC5595316 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0184192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2017] [Accepted: 08/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Proteasome is a proteolytic complex responsible for intracellular protein turnover in eukaryotes, archaea and in some actinobacteria species. Previous work has demonstrated that in Schistosoma mansoni parasites, the proteasome inhibitor MG-132 affects parasite development. However, the molecular targets affected by MG-132 in S. mansoni are not entirely known. Here, we used expression microarrays to measure the genome-wide changes in gene expression of S. mansoni adult worms exposed in vitro to MG-132, followed by in silico functional analyses of the affected genes using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). Scanning electron microscopy was used to document changes in the parasites’ tegument. We identified 1,919 genes with a statistically significant (q-value ≤ 0.025) differential expression in parasites treated for 24 h with MG-132, when compared with control. Of these, a total of 1,130 genes were up-regulated and 790 genes were down-regulated. A functional gene interaction network comprised of MG-132 and its target genes, known from the literature to be affected by the compound in humans, was identified here as affected by MG-132. While MG-132 activated the expression of the 26S proteasome genes, it also decreased the expression of 19S chaperones assembly, 20S proteasome maturation, ubiquitin-like NEDD8 and its partner cullin-3 ubiquitin ligase genes. Interestingly, genes that encode proteins related to potassium ion binding, integral membrane component, ATPase and potassium channel activities were significantly down-regulated, whereas genes encoding proteins related to actin binding and microtubule motor activity were significantly up-regulated. MG-132 caused important changes in the worm tegument; peeling, outbreaks and swelling in the tegument tubercles could be observed, which is consistent with interference on the ionic homeostasis in S. mansoni. Finally, we showed the down-regulation of Bax pro-apoptotic gene, as well as up-regulation of two apoptosis inhibitor genes, IAP1 and BRE1, and in contrast, down-regulation of Apaf-1 apoptotic activator, thus suggesting that apoptosis is deregulated in S. mansoni exposed to MG-132. A considerable insight has been gained concerning the potential of MG-132 as a gene expression modulator, and overall the data suggest that the proteasome might be an important molecular target for the design of new drugs against schistosomiasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enyara R. Morais
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil
- * E-mail:
| | - Katia C. Oliveira
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
- Centro de Parasitologia e Micologia, Núcleo de Enteroparasitas, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
| | - Renato G. de Paula
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil
| | - Alice M. M. Ornelas
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil
| | - Érika B. C. Moreira
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil
| | - Fernanda Rafacho Badoco
- Grupo de Pesquisa em Produtos Naturais, Núcleo de Pesquisa em Ciências Exatas e Tecnológicas, Universidade de Franca, Franca, SP, Brasil
| | - Lizandra G. Magalhães
- Grupo de Pesquisa em Produtos Naturais, Núcleo de Pesquisa em Ciências Exatas e Tecnológicas, Universidade de Franca, Franca, SP, Brasil
| | - Sergio Verjovski-Almeida
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
- Laboratório de Expressão Gênica em Eucariotos, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
| | - Vanderlei Rodrigues
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil
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Sotillo J, Toledo R, Mulvenna J, Loukas A. Exploiting Helminth-Host Interactomes through Big Data. Trends Parasitol 2017; 33:875-888. [PMID: 28734897 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2017.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2017] [Revised: 06/26/2017] [Accepted: 06/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Helminths facilitate their parasitic existence through the production and secretion of different molecules, including proteins. Some helminth proteins can manipulate the host's immune system, a phenomenon that is now being exploited with a view to developing therapeutics for inflammatory diseases. In recent years, hundreds of helminth genomes have been sequenced, but as a community we are still taking baby steps when it comes to identifying proteins that govern host-helminth interactions. The information generated from genomic, immunomic, and proteomic studies, as well as from cutting-edge approaches such as proteogenomics, is leading to a substantial volume of big data that can be utilised to shed light on fundamental biology and provide solutions for the development of bioactive-molecule-based therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Sotillo
- Centre for Biodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics, Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, Australia.
| | - Rafael Toledo
- Departament de Farmacia, Tecnologia Farmacéutica y Parasitologia, Facultat de Farmacia, Universitat de Valencia, Spain
| | - Jason Mulvenna
- QIMR-Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Alex Loukas
- Centre for Biodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics, Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, Australia.
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Gava SG, Tavares NC, Salim ACDM, Araújo FMGD, Oliveira G, Mourão MM. Schistosoma mansoni: Off-target analyses using nonspecific double-stranded RNAs as control for RNAi experiments in schistosomula. Exp Parasitol 2017; 177:98-103. [DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2017.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Revised: 04/21/2017] [Accepted: 04/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Fernandes RS, Barbosa TC, Barbosa MMF, Miyasato PA, Nakano E, Leite LCC, Farias LP. Stage and tissue expression patterns of Schistosoma mansoni venom allergen-like proteins SmVAL 4, 13, 16 and 24. Parasit Vectors 2017; 10:223. [PMID: 28482920 PMCID: PMC5422958 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-017-2144-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2016] [Accepted: 04/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Schistosoma mansoni venom allergen-like protein (SmVAL) is a gene family composed of 29 members divided into group 1 encoding proteins potentially secreted, and group 2 encoding intracellular components. Some members were found to be upregulated in the transition of germ ball - cercariae - day 3 schistosomula, suggesting that group 1 SmVAL proteins are associated with the invasion of the human host, although their functions are not completely established. Recently, we have described the localization of SmVAL7 (group 1) and SmVAL6 (group 2) transcripts in the oesophageal gland and in the oral and ventral suckers of adult parasites, respectively. The expression patterns of the two genes suggest that SmVAL7 protein plays a role in the blood-feeding process while SmVAL6 is associated with the parasite attachment and movement in the vasculature. In this way, searching for additional secreted SmVAL proteins that could be involved in key processes from skin penetration to the beginning of blood-feeding, we investigated the tissue localization of SmVAL4, 13, 16 and 24 by whole-mount in situ hybridization (WISH). Results We report here the localization of group 1 SmVAL4 and 24 transcripts in the pre-acetabular glands of developing germ balls. Time course experiments of in vitro cultured schistosomula after cercariae transformation demonstrated that SmVAL4 protein is secreted during the first 3 h of in vitro culture, correlating with the emptying of acetabular glands as documented by confocal microscopy. In addition, the localization of SmVAL13 transcripts in adult male anterior oesophageal gland suggests that the respective protein may be involved in the first steps of the blood-feeding process. SmVAL16 was localized close to the neural ganglia and requires further investigation. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate that SmVAL proteins have localizations that place them in strategic positions to be considered as potential vaccine candidates as some members are exposed to interaction with the immune system and may participate in key processes of mammalian invasion and parasitism establishment. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-017-2144-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafaela Sachetto Fernandes
- Centro de Biotecnologia, Instituto Butantan, Av. Vital Brasil, 1500, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação Interunidades em Biotecnologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Mayra Mara Ferrari Barbosa
- Centro de Biotecnologia, Instituto Butantan, Av. Vital Brasil, 1500, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação Interunidades em Biotecnologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Patrícia Aoki Miyasato
- Laboratório de Parasitologia, Instituto Butantan, Av. Vital Brasil, 1500, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Eliana Nakano
- Laboratório de Parasitologia, Instituto Butantan, Av. Vital Brasil, 1500, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Leonardo Paiva Farias
- Centro de Biotecnologia, Instituto Butantan, Av. Vital Brasil, 1500, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. .,Present Address: Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Salvador, BA, Brazil.
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50
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Editorial: parasitic helminths in Latin America and the Caribbean. J Helminthol 2017; 91:97-98. [DOI: 10.1017/s0022149x17000098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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