Project description:It is well recognized that parasitic helminth infections, which afflict more than one billion people globally, correlate with a decreased prevalence of metabolic diseases, including obesity and type 2 diabetes, but the molecular mechanisms involved remain to be determined. Using microarrays, we quantified the temporal gene expression profiles in the liver of Schistosoma japonicum-infected C57BL/6 mice at 9 weeks post infection with that from uninfected mice as controls. More than 150 miRNAs were differentially expressed in the liver during S. japonicum infection, and miRNA-mRNA network would provide new evidence for the negtive correlation between S. japonicum infection and metabolism.
Project description:In the complex lifecycle of schistosomes, four developmental stages are closely associated with their definitive hosts: cercaria (infective stage), schistosomula and adult worm (parasitic stages), egg (pathogenic- and pathophoresis-stage). We have examined the gene expression profiles of Schistosoma japonicum in the four developmental stages. Genes with different expression patterns were identified and the information obtained will help indentify new anti-schistosomal intervention targets in the future.
Project description:The life cycle of schistosomes is complex, being characterised by a series of distinct parasitic and free-living phases involving an invertebrate snail host, water and a mammalian host. A custom designed oligonucleotide microarray was utilized to profile developmental gene expression in the Asian blood fluke, Schistosoma japonicum during these parasitic and free-living transitions. Total RNAs were isolated from lung schistosomula, juvenile females and males (paired but little or no egg production), adult males and females (paired with full scale egg production), eggs, miracidia, sporocysts and cercariae. We focused on the three distinct environmental phases of the lifecycle - aquatic/snail (eggs, miracidia, sporocysts, cercariae), juvenile (lung schistosomula and paired pre-egg laying adults) and adult (paired males and females, both examined separately) stages.
Project description:The gogal of this study is to use RNA-Seq to systematically investigate the dynamics of the liver transcriptome over Schistosoma japonicum infection.
