Wendt George, Zhao Lu, Chen Rui, Liu Chenxi, O'Donoghue Anthony J, Caffrey Conor R, Reese Michael L, Collins James J
Department of Pharmacology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Science. 2020 Sep 25;369(6511):1644-1649. doi: 10.1126/science.abb7709.
Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease that infects 240 million people. With no vaccines and only one drug available, new therapeutic targets are needed. The causative agents, schistosomes, are intravascular flatworm parasites that feed on blood and lay eggs, resulting in pathology. The function of the parasite's various tissues in successful parasitism are poorly understood, hindering identification of therapeutic targets. Using single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), we characterize 43,642 cells from the adult schistosome and identify 68 distinct cell populations, including specialized stem cells that maintain the parasite's blood-digesting gut. These stem cells express the gene , which is required for gut maintenance, blood feeding, and pathology in vivo. Together, these data provide molecular insights into the organ systems of this important pathogen and identify potential therapeutic targets.
血吸虫病是一种被忽视的热带疾病,感染人数达2.4亿。由于没有疫苗且只有一种药物可用,因此需要新的治疗靶点。病原体血吸虫是血管内的扁形虫寄生虫,以血液为食并产卵,从而导致病变。人们对寄生虫各种组织在成功寄生过程中的功能了解甚少,这阻碍了治疗靶点的识别。通过单细胞RNA测序(RNA-seq),我们对成年血吸虫的43642个细胞进行了表征,并识别出68个不同的细胞群体,包括维持寄生虫血液消化肠道的特化干细胞。这些干细胞表达基因,该基因是体内肠道维持、血液摄取和病变所必需的。这些数据共同提供了对这种重要病原体器官系统的分子见解,并确定了潜在的治疗靶点。