College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Institute of Science and Technology, Xinxiang, China; Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2024 Oct 1;284:116849. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.116849. Epub 2024 Aug 20.
Parasite infection not only triggers the immune response of the host but also potentially affects the reproductive status, thereby influencing the population size. Therefore, understanding the impact of parasite infection on host immune and reproductive systems has long been an important issue in ecological research. To address this, we conducted field surveys (2021-2023) to investigate Capillaria hepatica infection status in Brandt's vole (Lasiopodomys brandtii) and performed controlled experiments in semi-natural enclosures and indoor laboratories. The results showed a negative correlation between the population size of Brandt's vole and the infection rate. To further explore the regulatory mechanisms, transcriptomic and proteomic analyses were performed on the infected BALB/c mice. The study found that post-infection with Capillaria hepatica, up-regulated genes and proteins in the mice liver were primarily associated with immune functions, while down-regulated genes and proteins were related to metabolic functions such as retinol metabolism. Through validation experiments supplementing retinol to the host infected with Capillaria hepatica, it was found that infection with Capillaria hepatica leads to a decrease in systemic available retinol levels, disrupting the expression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis hormones, affecting the expression of CYP17A1, thereby regulating testosterone secretion related to spermatogenesis. This process results in abnormal spermatogenesis in the testes, thereby impacting the reproductive capacity of mice. This suggests that Capillaria hepatica regulates resource allocation in hosts, striking a "trade-off" between reproduction and survival, thereby exerting control over population size. These discoveries are crucial for comprehending the interaction between Capillaria hepatica and hosts, as well as their impacts on host reproduction and immune systems, and provide a scientific basis for controlling the transmission of Capillaria hepatica.
寄生虫感染不仅会触发宿主的免疫反应，还可能影响宿主的生殖状态，从而影响种群大小。因此，了解寄生虫感染对宿主免疫和生殖系统的影响一直是生态研究中的一个重要问题。为了解决这个问题，我们在 2021-2023 年进行了实地调查，以调查布氏田鼠（Lasiopodomys brandtii）中肝毛细线虫（Capillaria hepatica）的感染状况，并在半自然围栏和室内实验室中进行了对照实验。结果表明，布氏田鼠的种群大小与感染率呈负相关。为了进一步探讨调节机制，我们对感染肝毛细线虫的 BALB/c 小鼠进行了转录组和蛋白质组分析。研究发现，感染肝毛细线虫后，小鼠肝脏中上调的基因和蛋白主要与免疫功能有关，而下调的基因和蛋白与视黄醇代谢等代谢功能有关。通过补充视黄醇给感染肝毛细线虫的宿主的验证实验，发现感染肝毛细线虫会导致宿主系统中可利用的视黄醇水平降低，破坏下丘脑-垂体-性腺（HPG）轴激素的表达，影响 CYP17A1 的表达，从而调节与精子发生相关的睾酮分泌。这一过程导致睾丸中精子发生异常，从而影响小鼠的生殖能力。这表明肝毛细线虫在宿主中调节资源分配，在繁殖和生存之间产生“权衡”，从而对种群大小产生控制作用。这些发现对于理解肝毛细线虫与宿主之间的相互作用以及它们对宿主生殖和免疫系统的影响至关重要，并为控制肝毛细线虫的传播提供了科学依据。
