liver fluke
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2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Robb ◽  
Erin McCammick ◽  
Duncan Wells ◽  
Paul McVeigh ◽  
Erica Gardiner ◽  
...  

Fasciola spp. liver fluke have significant impacts in veterinary and human medicine. The absence of a vaccine and increasing anthelmintic resistance threaten sustainable control and underscore the need for novel flukicides. Functional genomic approaches underpinned by in vitro culture of juvenile Fasciola hepatica facilitate control target validation in the most pathogenic life stage. Comparative transcriptomics of in vitro and in vivo maintained 21 day old F. hepatica finds that 86% of genes are expressed at similar levels across maintenance treatments suggesting commonality in core biological functioning within these juveniles. Phenotypic comparisons revealed higher cell proliferation and growth rates in the in vivo juveniles compared to their in vitro counterparts. These phenotypic differences were consistent with the upregulation of neoblast-like stem cell and cell-cycle associated genes in in vivo maintained worms. The more rapid growth/development of in vivo juveniles was further evidenced by a switch in cathepsin protease expression profiles, dominated by cathepsin B in in vitro juveniles and then by cathepsin L in in vivo juveniles. Coincident with more rapid growth/development was the marked downregulation of both classical and peptidergic neuronal signalling components in in vivo maintained juveniles, supporting a role for the nervous system in regulating liver fluke growth and development. Differences in the miRNA complements of in vivo and in vitro juveniles identified 31 differentially expressed miRNAs, notably fhe-let-7a-5p , fhe-mir-124-3p and, miRNAs predicted to target Wnt-signalling, supporting a key role for miRNAs in driving the growth/developmental differences in the in vitro and in vivo maintained juvenile liver fluke. Widespread differences in the expression of neuronal genes in juvenile fluke grown in vitro and in vivo expose significant interplay between neuronal signalling and the rate of growth/development, encouraging consideration of neuronal targets in efforts to dysregulate growth/development for parasite control.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sujittra Chaiyadet ◽  
Sirikachorn Tangkawattana ◽  
Michael J Smout ◽  
Wannaporn Ittiprasert ◽  
Victoria H. Mann ◽  
...  

AbstractInfection with the food-borne liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini is the principal risk factor for cholangiocarcinoma (CCA; bile duct cancer) in the Lower Mekong River Basin countries including Thailand, Lao PDR, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia. Using gene edited liver flukes in a hamster model of CCA involving concurrent infection and administration of sub-carcinogenic levels of nitrosamine, we explored the role of the fluke granulin-like growth factor Ov-GRN-1 in malignancy. We produced programmed gene knockout flukes (ΔOv-grn-1) by delivery of a CRISPR/Cas9/gRNA system by square wave electroporation. Targeted genome sequencing confirmed Cas9-catalyzed mutations in target parasite genes, and the rapid depletion of transcripts and the targeted proteins. Hamsters were infected with gene edited larval parasites and exposed to sub-carcinogenic levels of dimethyl nitrosamine in drinking water. Whereas Ov-grn-1 gene-edited parasites colonized the biliary tract of hamsters and developed into adult flukes, less hepatobiliary tract disease manifested during chronic infection with ΔOv-grn-1 worms in comparison to hamsters infected with control parasites. Specifically, immunohistochemical analysis of thin sections of hamster livers revealed markedly less fibrosis surrounding flukes and less global liver fibrosis as a result of infection with ΔOv-grn-1 worms, minimal biliary epithelial cell proliferation, and markedly fewer mutations of TP53 in biliary epithelial cells. Moreover, fewer hamsters developed high grade CCA when infected with ΔOv-grn-1 flukes compared to controls. The clinically-relevant pathophysiological phenotype of the livers of the hamsters confirmed a role for this parasite secreted growth factor in morbidity and malignancy during opisthorchiasis.


Acta Tropica ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 106282
Author(s):  
Yaroslav K. Kapushchak ◽  
Oxana G. Zaparina ◽  
Viatcheslav A. Mordvinov ◽  
Maria Y. Pakharukova

Acta Tropica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 224 ◽  
pp. 106133
Author(s):  
Banchob Sripa ◽  
Apiporn T. Suwannatrai ◽  
Somphou Sayasone ◽  
Dung Trung Do ◽  
Virak Khieu ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (46) ◽  
pp. e2102206118
Author(s):  
Chao Yan ◽  
Qian-Yang Zhou ◽  
Jing Wu ◽  
Na Xu ◽  
Ying Du ◽  
...  

Chronic infection with liver flukes (such as Clonorchis sinensis) can induce severe biliary injuries, which can cause cholangitis, biliary fibrosis, and even cholangiocarcinoma. The release of extracellular vesicles by C. sinensis (CsEVs) is of importance in the long-distance communication between the hosts and worms. However, the biological effects of EVs from liver fluke on biliary injuries and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly characterized. In the present study, we found that CsEVs induced M1-like activation. In addition, the mice that were administrated with CsEVs showed severe biliary injuries associated with remarkable activation of M1-like macrophages. We further characterized the signatures of miRNAs packaged in CsEVs and identified a miRNA Csi-let-7a-5p, which was highly enriched. Further study showed that Csi-let-7a-5p facilitated the activation of M1-like macrophages by targeting Socs1 and Clec7a; however, CsEVs with silencing Csi-let-7a-5p showed a decrease in proinflammatory responses and biliary injuries, which involved in the Socs1- and Clec7a-regulated NF-κB signaling pathway. Our study demonstrates that Csi-let-7a-5p delivered by CsEVs plays a critical role in the activation of M1-like macrophages and contributes to the biliary injuries by targeting the Socs1- and Clec7a-mediated NF-κB signaling pathway, which indicates a mechanism contributing to biliary injuries caused by fluke infection. However, molecules other than Csi-let-7a-5p from CsEVs that may also promote M1-like polarization and exacerbate biliary injuries are not excluded.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-7
Author(s):  
Ahmad E. Al-Mulla ◽  
◽  
Fawazia Ashkanani ◽  
Ali Al-Tabeekh ◽  
Raghad Al-Huzaim ◽  
...  

Clonorchis Sinensis is an important foodborne pathogen. It is actively transmitted in far-East countries and Asia, especially in China. It enters the biliary system via ingestion of infected cysts. It is exceedingly rare to encounter such a presentation in the Middle East, particular in Kuwait. The presence of liver fluke in the biliary system may lead to adverse complications. We are presenting a case report describing quite an unusual gallbladder finding in a 55-year-old Chinese lady.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caoimhe M Herron ◽  
Anna O'Connor ◽  
Emily Robb ◽  
Erin McCammick ◽  
Claire Hill ◽  
...  

The liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica, is a global burden on the wellbeing and productivity of farmed ruminants, and a zoonotic threat to human health. Despite the clear need for accelerated discovery of new drug and vaccine treatments for this pathogen, we still have a relatively limited understanding of liver fluke biology and host interactions. Noncoding RNAs, including micro (mi)RNAs, are key to transcriptional regulation in all eukaryotes, such that an understanding of miRNA biology can shed light on organismal function at a systems level. Four previous publications have reported up to 89 mature miRNA sequences from F. hepatica, but our data show that this does not represent a full account of this species miRNome. We have expanded on previous studies by sequencing, for the first time, miRNAs from multiple life stages (adult, newly excysted juvenile (NEJ), metacercariae and adult-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs)). These experiments detected an additional 61 high-confidence miRNAs, most of which have not been described in any other species, expanding the F. hepatica miRNome to 150 mature sequences. We used quantitative (q)PCR assays to provide the first developmental profile of miRNA expression across metacercariae, NEJ, adult and adult-derived Evs. The majority of miRNAs were expressed most highly in metacercariae, with at least six distinct expression clusters apparent across life stages. Intracellular miRNAs were functionally analysed to identify target mRNAs with inversely correlated expression in F. hepatica tissue transcriptomes, highlighting regulatory interactions with key virulence transcripts including cathepsin proteases, and neuromuscular genes that control parasite growth, development and motility. We also linked 28 adult-derived EV miRNAs with downregulation of 397 host genes in F. hepatica-infected transcriptomes from ruminant lymph node, peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) and liver tissue transcriptomes. These included genes involved in signal transduction, immune and metabolic pathways, adding to the evidence for miRNA-based immunosuppression during fasciolosis. These data expand our understanding of the F. hepatica miRNome, provide the first data on developmental miRNA regulation in this species, and provide a set of testable hypotheses for functional genomics interrogations of liver fluke miRNA biology.


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