In-silico analysis of caspase-3 and -7 proteases from blood-parasitic Schistosoma species (Trematoda) and their human host

Myricetin Possesses Anthelmintic Activity and Attenuates Hepatic Fibrosis via Modulating TGFβ1 and Akt Signaling and Shifting Th1/Th2 Balance in Schistosoma japonicum-Infected Mice

Schistosomiasis is a zoonotic and debilitating parasitic disease caused by Schistosoma japonicum. Praziquantel remains the choice for treating schistosomiasis, but its efficacy could be hampered by emergence of resistance. In this study, using large-scale drug screening, we selected out myricetin, a natural flavonol compound, having a good anti-schistosome effect. We found that myricetin exhibited dose and time-dependent insecticidal effect on S. japonicum in vitro, with an LC₅₀ of 600 μM for 24 h, and inhibited female spawning. The drug mainly destroyed the body structure of the worms and induced apoptosis of the worm cells, which in turn led to death. In addition, oral administration of myricetin in mice infected with S. japonicum showed a deworming effect in vivo, as evidenced by a significant reduction in the liver egg load. H&E staining, quantitative RT-PCR, and Western blotting assays showed that myricetin significantly alleviated liver fibrosis in mice infected with S. japonicum. Myricetin also effectively inhibited the expression of TGFβ1, Smad2, phospho-Smad2, Smad3, phospho-Smad3, ERK, phospho-ERK, Akt, and phospho-Akt in the liver of infected mice, suggesting that myricetin attenuated liver fibrosis in mice via modulating TGFβ1 and Akt signaling. Flow cytometric analysis of Th subtypes (Th1/Th2/Th17/Treg) in the mouse spleen further revealed that myricetin significantly increased the percentage Th1 cells in infected mice and reduced the proportion of Th2 cells and Th17 cells. Immunology multiplex assay further showed that myricetin attenuated S. japonicum-induced rise in the plasma levels of IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, and IL-17A in infected mice while increasing the plasma contents of IFN-γ, IL-12, and IL-7. In conclusion, our study provides the first direct evidence that myricin possesses potent anti-schistosome activities in vitro and in vivo, and offers new insights into the mechanisms of action by myricetin. The present findings suggest that myricetin could be further explored as a therapeutic agent for S. japonicum.

Schistosoma japonicum IAP and Teg20 safeguard tegumental integrity by inhibiting cellular apoptosis

Schistosomes are causative agents of human schistosomiasis, which is endemic in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Adult schistosomes can survive in their final hosts for several decades, and they have evolved various strategies to overcome the host immune response. Consequently, understanding the mechanisms that regulate parasitic cell survival will open avenues for developing novel strategies against schistosomiasis. Our previous study suggested that an inhibitor of apoptosis protein in Schistosoma japonicum (SjIAP) may play important roles in parasitic survival and development. Here, we demonstrated that SjIAP can negatively regulate cellular apoptosis in S. japonicum by suppressing caspase activity. Immunohistochemistry analysis indicated that SjIAP ubiquitously expressed within the worm body including the tegument. Silencing of SjIAP expression via small interfering RNA led to destruction of the tegument integrity in schistosomes. We further used co-immunoprecipitation to identify interaction partners of SjIAP and revealed the tegument protein SjTeg-20 as a putative interacting partner of SjIAP. The interaction between SjIAP and SjTeg-20 was confirmed by a yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assay. Moreover, results of a TUNEL assay, RNA interference, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, caspase assays, transcript profiling, and protein localization of both interacting molecules provided first evidence for an essential role of SjIAP and SjTeg-20 to maintain the structural integrity of the tegument by negatively regulating apoptosis. Taken together, our findings suggest that the cooperative activities of SjIAP and SjTeg-20 belong to the strategic inventory of S. japonicum ensuring survival in the hostile environment within the vasculature of the final host.

Schistosomiasis is a worldwide public health concern particularly in developing countries. The causative agents, schistosomes, can survive within the vascular system of their final hosts for several decades despite facing the host’s immune response. Therefore, elucidating the mechanism of cell survival will contribute to the understanding of host-parasite interaction and may lead to the identification of suitable targets for developing novel strategies against schistosomiasis. Inhibitor of apoptosis proteins are highly conserved proteins functioning as endogenous inhibitors of apoptotic cell death. Here, we demonstrated that an inhibitor of apoptosis protein of Schistosoma japonicum (SjIAP) governs the integrity of the tegument of schistosomes by inhibiting cellular apoptosis of the parasite. Further studies revealed that SjTeg-20, an S. japonicum tegumental protein, cooperates with SjIAP to inhibit apoptosis in schistosomes. Our findings provide new insights into the role of SjIAP and SjTeg-20 in maintaining the integrity of the worm tegument by negatively regulating apoptosis.

Curcumin Generates Oxidative Stress and Induces Apoptosis in Adult Schistosoma mansoni Worms

Inducing apoptosis is an interesting therapeutic approach to develop drugs that act against helminthic parasites. Researchers have investigated how curcumin (CUR), a biologically active compound extracted from rhizomes of Curcuma longa, affects Schistosoma mansoni and several cancer cell lines. This study evaluates how CUR influences the induction of apoptosis and oxidative stress in couples of adult S. mansoni worms. CUR decreased the viability of adult worms and killed them. The tegument of the parasite suffered morphological changes, the mitochondria underwent alterations, and chromatin condensed. Different apoptotic parameters were determined in an attempt to understand how CUR affected adult S. mansoni worms. CUR induced DNA damage and fragmentation and increased the expression of SmCASP3/7 transcripts and the activity of Caspase 3 in female and male worms. However, CUR did not intensify the activity of Caspase 8 in female or male worms. Evaluation of the superoxide anion and different antioxidant enzymes helped to explore the mechanism of parasite death further. The level of superoxide anion and the activity of Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) increased, whereas the activity of Glutathione-S-Transferase (GST), Glutathione reductase (GR), and Glutathione peroxidase (GPX) decreased, which culminated in the oxidation of proteins in adult female and male worms incubated with CUR. In conclusion, CUR generated oxidative stress followed by apoptotic-like-events in both adult female and male S. mansoni worms, ultimately killing them.

Threading: A novel insilico indagation method for genetic characterization of some diplostomoid metacercariae (Digenea:Diplostomidae Poirier, 1886)

The protein encoding zone of Mitochondrial DNA region (inherited from single lineage) seems most suitable and effective for taxonomic, systematic, ecological, evolutionary, DNA barcoding, cryptic species and population studies, exploiting nucleotide/amino acid datasets (1D/2D/3D conformational level). Nowadays, expeditious computerized methods are in trend for analyzing genetic material to demonstrate variations at various levels of protein structures. Structural proteomics have implemented here for genetic identification, differentiation and relationship of species from information rich data of mt COI gene of the family Diplostomidae with inclusion of molecular tools. Various aspects have been utilized herein for re-validation and infallible discrimination of Trematode diplostomoid metacercariae (Tetracotyle lucknowensis Pandey, 1971; T. xenentodoni Chakrabarti, 1970; T. fausti Rai and Pande, 1969; T. muscularius Chakrabarti, 1970 and Diplostomulum minutum Pandey, 1968), the infective stage in the life cycle, causing severe damage to fish host, whose adults are found mainly in fish eating birds and mammals.

Comparison of apoptosis between adult worms of Schistosoma japonicum from susceptible (BALB/c mice) and less-susceptible (Wistar rats) hosts

Schistosomiasis remains a serious public health concern in China. BALB/c mice are susceptible to Schistosoma japonicum infection, whereas the Wistar rats are less susceptible. Apoptosis phenomenon was observed in 42d adult worms of S. japonicum from both rats and mice at the morphologic, DNA, cellular, and gene levels by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), fluorometric terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) analysis, fluorescein isothiocyanate-annexin-V/propidium iodide staining flow cytometry (FCM) analysis, and real-time PCR. The results showed that the apoptotic state in worms from two different susceptible hosts was diverse. Several classical hallmarks of apoptosis, including cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation and lunate marginalization, splitting of the nucleoli, nuclear shrinkage and apoptotic body formation were observed by TEM. TUNEL analysis showed that there were much more apoptosis spots in adult worms from rats than those from mice. Statistical analysis revealed that the degree of apoptosis and percentage of necrotic cells in adult worms from Wistar rats were significantly greater (P<0.01) than those from BALB/c mice by flow cytometry. A total of 15 apoptosis-associated genes including the major components of an intrinsic cell-death pathway were identified from S. japonicum in this study, suggested that a similar apoptosis pathway might occur in S. japonicum. Real-time PCR analyses revealed that the expression levels of most of the tested apoptosis-associated genes, except CASP7, were significantly higher or at the similar level in adult worms from Wistar rats, as compared to those from BALB/c mice. The results obtained in this study collectively demonstrated that differential development of adult S. japonicum in less-susceptible rats and susceptible mice was significantly associated with apoptosis in the worm, and provided valuable information to guide further investigations of the mechanisms governing apoptosis and host interactions in schistosome infection.