EV-transported microRNAs of Schistosoma mansoni and Fasciola hepatica: Potential targets in definitive hosts.

EV-transported microRNAs of Schistosoma mansoni and Fasciola hepatica: Potential targets in definitive hosts. Infect Genet Evol. 2020 Sep 03;:104528 Authors: Ovchinnikov VY, Kashina EV, Mordvinov VA, Fromm B Abstract Trematodes are widespread parasitic flatworms that significantly affect mankind either directly as human parasites, or indirectly via the infection of livestock and the related economic damage. The two most important trematode taxa are the blood flukes Schistosoma and the liver flukes Fasciola, but detection and differentiation of these parasites remains a challenge. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) were described from extracellular vesicles (EV) for both parasites secreted into respective hosts. These molecules have been proposed as mediators of parasite-host communication, and potential biomarkers for the detection of parasitic infections from host blood. Our aim here was to study similarities and differences in the miRNA complements of Schistosoma mansoni and Fasciola hepatica, EV-load in particular, to predict their targets and potential functions in the parasite-host interaction. We reanalyzed the known miRNA complements of S. mansoni and F. hepatica and found 16 and 4 previously overlooked, but deeply conserved miRNAs, respectively, further moving their complements closer together. We found distinct miRNA enrichment patterns in EVs both showing high levels of flatworm miRNAs with potential for the detection of an infec...
Source: Infection, Genetics and Evolution - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Tags: Infect Genet Evol Source Type: research