Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom.
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2020 May 6;14(5):e0007743. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007743. eCollection 2020 May.
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.
血吸虫是寄生在哺乳动物血管内的血吸虫子，能在宿主体内存活多年。寄生虫如何在敌对的血液环境中建立慢性感染，同时逃避宿主免疫反应，这一点我们还不太了解。寄生虫在向其首选的血管栖位迁移的过程中，会发生形态上的变化并生长，从而避免或修复来自宿主免疫系统的损伤。在这项研究中，我们研究了曼氏血吸虫在哺乳动物体内发育过程中基因表达的时间变化。我们对在肺部发育的寄生虫进行了 RNA-seq 数据分析，直到产卵成熟的成虫阶段，从而全面描绘了体内的哺乳动物内发育情况。值得注意的是，与信号通路、发育控制和对氧化应激适应相关的基因在肺部阶段上调。这些数据还暗示了一个以前未被描述的基因在免疫逃避方面的潜在作用。这项研究不仅为研究界提供了一个大型的、全面的数据集，还为进一步阐明宿主-寄生虫相互作用提供了新的方向，这可能最终为这种被忽视的热带病病原体带来新的控制策略。
