Dataset Information

Differential gene expression, including Sjfs800, in Schistosoma japonicum females at pre-pairing, initial pairing and oviposition.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Schistosomiasis is a prevalent but neglected tropical disease caused by parasitic trematodes of the genus Schistosoma, with the primary disease-causing species being S. haematobium, S. mansoni and S. japonicum. Male-female pairing of schistosomes is necessary for sexual maturity and the production of a large number of eggs, which are primarily responsible for schistosomiasis dissemination and pathology. METHODS:Here, we used microarray hybridization, bioinformatics, quantitative PCR, in situ hybridization and gene silencing assays to identify genes that play critical roles in S. japonicum reproduction biology, particularly in vitellarium development, a process that affects male-female pairing, sexual maturation and subsequent egg production. RESULTS:Microarray hybridization analyses generated a comprehensive set of genes differentially transcribed before and after male-female pairing. Although the transcript profiles of females were similar 16 and 18 days after host infection, marked gene expression changes were observed at 24 days. The 30 most abundantly transcribed genes on day 24 included those associated with vitellarium development. Among these, the gene for female-specific 800 (fs800) was substantially upregulated. Our in situ hybridization results in female S. japonicum indicated that Sjfs800 mRNA was observed only in the vitellarium, localized in mature vitelline cells. Knocking down the Sjfs800 gene in female S. japonicum by approximately 60% reduced the number of mature vitelline cells, decreased rates of pairing and oviposition, and decreased the number of eggs produced in each male-female pairing by about 50%. CONCLUSIONS:These results indicate that Sjfs800 may play a role in vitellarium development and egg production in S. japonicum and suggest that Sjfs800 regulation may provide a novel approach for the prevention or treatment of schistosomiasis.

SUBMITTER: Liu F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6708146 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Differential gene expression, including Sjfs800, in Schistosoma japonicum females at pre-pairing, initial pairing and oviposition.

Liu Fengchun F Ding Han H Tian Jiaming J Zhou Congyu C Yang Fei F Shao Wei W Du Yinan Y Hou Xin X Ren Cuiping C Shen Jijia J Liu Miao M

Parasites & vectors 20190823 1

<h4>Background</h4>Schistosomiasis is a prevalent but neglected tropical disease caused by parasitic trematodes of the genus Schistosoma, with the primary disease-causing species being S. haematobium, S. mansoni and S. japonicum. Male-female pairing of schistosomes is necessary for sexual maturity and the production of a large number of eggs, which are primarily responsible for schistosomiasis dissemination and pathology.<h4>Methods</h4>Here, we used microarray hybridization, bioinformatics, qua ...[more]

PMID: 31443730

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Project description:BACKGROUND: More than 46 species of mammals can be naturally infected with Schistosoma japonicum in the mainland of China. Mice are permissive and may act as the definitive host of the life cycle. In contrast, rats are less susceptible to S. japonicum infection, and are considered to provide an unsuitable micro-environment for parasite growth and development. Since little is known of what effects this micro-environment has on the parasite itself, we have in the present study utilised a S. japonicum oligonucleotide microarray to compare the gene expression differences of 10-day-old schistosomula maintained in Wistar rats with those maintained in BALB/c mice. RESULTS: In total 3,468 schistosome genes were found to be differentially expressed, of which the majority (3,335) were down-regulated (? 2 fold) and 133 were up-regulated (? 2 fold) in schistosomula from Wistar rats compared with those from BALB/c mice. Gene ontology (GO) analysis revealed that of the differentially expressed genes with already established functions or close homology to well characterized genes in another organisms, many are related to important biological functions or molecular processes. Among the genes that were down-regulated in schistosomula from Wistar rats, some were associated with metabolism, signal transduction and development. Of these genes related to metabolic processes, areas including translation, protein and amino acid phosphorylation, proteolysis, oxidoreductase activities, catalytic activities and hydrolase activities, were represented. KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathway analysis of differential expressed genes indicated that of the 328 genes that had a specific KEGG pathway annotation, 324 were down-regulated and were mainly associated with metabolism, growth, redox pathway, oxidative phosphorylation, the cell cycle, ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, protein export and the MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinases) signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: This work presents the first large scale gene expression study identifying the differences between schistosomula maintained in mice and those maintained in rats, and specifically highlights differential expression that may impact on the survival and development of the parasite within the definitive host. The research presented here provides valuable information for the better understanding of schistosome development and host-parasite interactions.

Project description:BackgroundSchistosoma japonicum is one of the major causative agents of schistosomiasis. The pairing of males and females leads to female sexual maturation and maintains this mature state. However, the mechanisms by which pairing facilitates sexual maturation are yet to be investigated.MethodsParasites isolated from single- and double-sex cercariae-infected mice were analyzed by Solexa to uncover pair-regulated miRNA profiles. To reveal the biological functions of differentially expressed miRNAs among the samples, we predicted the target genes of these differentially expressed miRNAs and compared the gene expression between 23-d-old female schistosomula from double-sex infections (23DSI) and 23-d-old female schistosomula from single-sex infections (23SSI) by analyzing digital gene expression profiling (DGE). KEGG pathway analysis was used to investigate the relevant biological processes of these target genes to understand the significance of differentially expressed miRNAs after pairing.ResultsThe differentially expressed miRNA profiles of female 18- and 23-d post-single- and double-sex infections were analysed by Solexa. Similar miRNA profiles were observed in 18SSI and 18DSI, with the presence of identically expressed high-abundance miRNA, such as miRNA-1, miRNA-71b-5p and let-7. By contrast, in 23DSI and 23SSI, most of these high-abundance miRNAs were down-regulated. Furthermore, among all samples, bantam was distinctly up-regulated in 23 DSI, and miR-1, miR-71, miR-7-5p, and miR-7 were distinctly up-regulated in 23SSI. The transcriptomes of 23DSI and 23SSI revealed that the predicted target genes of miRNA-1, miRNA-71, miRNA-7, and miR-7-5p were associated with the ribonucleoprotein complex assembly and microtubule-based process. Conversely, the predicted target genes of bantam were related to the embryo development, development of primary sexual characteristics and regulation of transcription. KEGG pathway analysis revealed that in unpaired females, the highly-expressed miRNA-1, miRNA-71, miRNA-7, and miR-7-5p only inhibited the limited pathways, such as proteasome and ribosome assembly. Meanwhile, in paired mature females, highly-expressed bantam inhibited more biological pathways, such as the citrate cycle, glycolysis, fatty acid biosynthesis and RNA degradation.ConclusionsThe differentially expressed miRNAs between 23SSI and 23DSI and their different functions indicated that more genes or metabolic pathways in paired mature females were inhibited than those in unpaired ones. The results suggested that after pairing, specific miRNAs regulated gene expression to lead to female sexual maturation.

Project description:BackgroundSchistosomiasis is a disease of world-wide importance and is caused by parasitic flatworms of the genus Schistosoma. These parasites exhibit a unique reproduction biology as the female's sexual maturation depends on a constant pairing-contact to the male. Pairing leads to gonad differentiation in the female, and even gene expression of some gonad-associated genes is controlled by pairing. In contrast, no morphological changes have been observed in males, although first data indicated an effect of pairing also on gene transcription in males.Methodology/principal findingsTo investigate the influence of pairing on males, we performed a combinatory approach applying SuperSAGE and microarray hybridization, generating the most comprehensive data-set on differential transcription available to date. Of 6,326 sense transcripts detected by both analyses, 29 were significantly differentially transcribed. Besides mutual confirmation, the two methods complemented each other as shown by data comparison and real-time PCR, which revealed a number of genes with consistent regulation across all methods. One of the candidate genes, follistatin of S. mansoni (SmFst) was characterized in more detail by in situ hybridization and yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) interaction analyses with potential binding partners.Conclusions/significanceBeyond confirming previously hypothesized differences in metabolic processes between pairing-experienced (EM) and pairing-unexperienced males (UM), our data indicate that neuronal processes are involved in male-female interaction but also TGFβ-signaling. One candidate revealing significant down-regulation in EM was the TGFβ-pathway controlling molecule follistatin (SmFst). First functional analyses demonstrated SmFst interaction with the S. mansoni TGFβ-receptor agonists inhibin/activin (SmInAct) and bone morphogenic protein (SmBMP), and all molecules colocalized in the testes. This indicates a yet unknown role of the TGFβ-pathway for schistosome biology leading to male competence and a possible influence of pairing on the male gonad.

Dataset Information

Differential gene expression, including Sjfs800, in Schistosoma japonicum females at pre-pairing, initial pairing and oviposition.

Publications

Differential gene expression, including Sjfs800, in Schistosoma japonicum females at pre-pairing, initial pairing and oviposition.

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