Department of Pathogen Biology & Immunology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Pathogen Biology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210029, P. R. China.
Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330046, P. R. China.
Sci Rep. 2017 Aug 10;7(1):7765. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-08283-5.
The pathology associated with Schistosoma japonicum (S. japonicum) infection in humans is attributed to parasite egg-induced granulomatous inflammation and fibrosis in the host liver. Currently, a marker that is reliable, cheap, less device-dependent, and can be easily and repeatedly used on a large scale to monitor the progression of liver pathology in schistosomiasis japonica endemic areas is lacking. The levels of serum S. japonicum heat shock protein 60 (SjHSP60)-specific IgG and its subtype antibodies in animals (mice and rabbits) or patients with schistosomiasis were measured by ELISA. Liver pathologies in mice and rabbits were evaluated by gross pathology and histopathology, and hepatic fibrosis in patients was examined with ultrasound imaging. The results revealed that the titers of the total IgG and subtype IgG1 anti-SjHSP60 antibodies were positively correlated with the severity of liver pathology after S. japonicum infection. Our findings indicate that the SjHSP60 IgG and IgG1 antibody levels can be used as potential candidate biomarkers for evaluation of liver pathology in schistosomiasis; however, validation remains to be explored in further work.
日本血吸虫（S. japonicum）感染相关的病理学主要归因于寄生虫卵诱导的宿主肝脏肉芽肿性炎症和纤维化。目前，缺乏一种可靠、廉价、对设备依赖较小、易于大规模重复使用、能够监测日本血吸虫病流行地区肝病理学进展的标志物。本研究通过 ELISA 检测了动物（小鼠和兔）或血吸虫病患者血清中日本血吸虫热休克蛋白 60（SjHSP60）特异性 IgG 及其亚型抗体的水平。通过大体病理和组织病理学评估了小鼠和兔的肝脏病变，并通过超声成像检查了患者的肝纤维化。结果表明，总 IgG 和亚型 IgG1 抗 SjHSP60 抗体的效价与日本血吸虫感染后肝脏病理学的严重程度呈正相关。我们的研究结果表明，SjHSP60 IgG 和 IgG1 抗体水平可作为评估血吸虫病肝病理学的潜在候选生物标志物；然而，在进一步的工作中仍需要验证。
