Parasite international open-access, peer-reviewed, online journal publishing high quality papers on all aspects of human and animal parasitology

Cystic echinococcosis, caused by infection with the larval stage of the cestodeEchinococcus granulosus, is a chronic zoonosis. The lifecycle of theE. granulosusparasite includes three consecutive stages that require specific gene regulation or protein expression to survive environmental shifts between definitive hosts and intermediate hosts. The aim of the present study is to screen and analyze the stage differential antigens to be considered for vaccine development againstE. granulosus. By using the iTRAQ (isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification) method, the differentially expressed proteins were selected from the three consecutive developmental stages ofE. granulosus: oncosphere, adult tapeworms, and protoscolex. Through a bioinformatics analysis including Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COG), Gene Ontology (GO), and pathway metabolic annotation, we identified some proteins of interest from each stage. The results showed that a large number of differentially expressed proteins (375: oncosphere vs. adult, 346: oncosphere vs. protoscolex, and 391: adult vs. protoscolex) were identified from the three main lifecycle stages. Analysis of the differential protein pathways showed that these differential proteins are mainly enriched in metabolic pathways, Huntington’s diseases, Alzheimer’s diseases, and ribosome metabolic pathways. Interestingly, among these differential proteins, expression levels of paramyosin, HSP60, HSP70, HSP90, cathepsin L1, cathepsin D, casein kinase, and calmodulin were significantly higher in the oncosphere than in the adult or protoscolex (p < 0.05). We hope our findings will help to identify potential targets for diagnosis or for therapeutic and prophylactic intervention.

Introduction: To improve meat yield and nutritional quality of Tibetan sheep of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Australian White and Small-tailed Han rams were introduced to crossbred with Tibetan sheep (Oura-type, O) ewes which possessed genetic homogeneity. The aim of this study was to compare growth conformation, meat quality, and further identified related candidate genes between Tibetan sheep and their three-way crossbreds (25% Australian White × 25% Small-tailed Han × 50% Oura-type Tibetan, AHO).Methods: Fifteen 5.5-month-old male lambs (8 O and 7 AHO crossbred) were raised for 5.5 months. We compared body conformation, carcass traits, meat quality (pH, color, cooking loss), nutrient composition (amino acids, fatty acids, ribonucleotides) in longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) muscle, and analyzed differentially expressed genes through transcriptomics.Results: Our findings indicated that 5.5-month-old AHO lambs exhibited significantly superior body conformation and carcass traits (p < 0.05), including live weight, cannon circumference, carcass weight, and loin eye area. Their LTL muscle contained higher levels of PUFA, n-6 PUFA, and a greater PUFA/SFA ratio along with the content of glutamic acid and methionine (p < 0.05), and an increased trend for inosine monophosphate (p = 0.072) in the AHO lambs than O groups. Transcriptomic analysis identified candidate genes including CSRP3, ANKRD1, IFRD1, PPARGC1A, and AMPD3, which are differentially expressed and associated with muscle development and meat flavor.Conclusion: The study revealed that AHO lambs demonstrated better growth and meat quality, with identified candidate genes for these traits. These findings provide practical strategies for enhancing Tibetan lamb meat quality through crossbreeding optimization in high-altitude regions.

Puberty is the process of physical maturation of an animal with the capability of sexual reproduction. In domestic animals, age at attainment of puberty is an event that contributes significantly to lifetime reproductive efficiency. Anhui white goat is a native Chinese breed, with the characters of early time puberty onset and high fecundity. However, the molecular mechanism of puberty onset has not been well understood. It has been demonstrated leptin act as a critical metabolic cue linking adipose and the onset of puberty. In the present study, we first assessed the morphological changes in adipose tissue at pre-puberty and puberty onset stages of goats, and then determined the role of leptin to activate signaling pathways which modulate the expression of hypothalamic genes involved in reproduction and metabolism. We found that leptin significantly upregulated the LEPR in the adipose tissue of goat at the puberty onset stage. Moreover, we observed that LEPR, JAK2, STAT3 (P<0.05), KISS1 (P<0.05) were also upregulated in the hypothalamic tissue, except NPY, which was downregulated. Taken together, it is, therefore, inferred that probably leptin secreted in the adipose tissue via its receptor leptin receptor through the JAK2/STA3 signal pathways, promote the upregulation of KISS1, which activates TRPC5, and, inhibit the release of NPY, thereby promoting the release of GnRH, thus hastening the onset of puberty in goat. During this process, leptin, LEPR and its signal pathways may act as a link between the adipose and puberty onset in goat. However, further more studies need to be carried out to verify this point.

Colon cancer ranks among the most prevalent malignant tumors worldwide, with its incidence rising progressively year by year. The identification of novel research tool for therapeutic targets has thus become an urgent priority. Here, we constructed a CS•CBE integrative delivery and editing system via chitosan and cytosine base editor (CBE), which could successfully target and inhibit the phosphorylation of β-catenin. In vitro studies demonstrated that this system achieved a high delivery efficiency of 86.0% and an editing efficiency of 78% in HCT116 cells, and Transwell and wound-healing assays verified that the CBE-β-catenin-HCT116 cells exhibited an increased proliferation rate. Furthermore, a xenograft tumor model was established in nude mice, and we observed that the tumor volume and weight in the experimental group were both significantly increased compared with those in the control group. Subsequently, the candidate genes identified from transcriptomic results, such as AXIN2 and GPR15, which are downstream of β-catenin pathways, validated the feasibility of the CS•CBE system as a research tool. Collectively, our CS•CBE system serves as a valuable research tool for targeted protein modulation, downstream target identification, and probe specific post-translational modifications analysis in colon cancer research.

The delivery of exogenous plasmids into experimental animals is crucial in biomedical research, including the investigation of gene functions, the elucidation of disease mechanisms, and the assessment of drug efficacy. However, the transfection efficiency of the current method is relatively low, and the introduction of plasmids for long-term gene expression may be affected by the immune system. To address these limitations, we developed and investigated a novel method that utilizes chitosan to encapsulate adenine base editor (ABE) plasmids and then directly deliver the complex to the bone marrow of mice by intraosseous injection. In this study, to target the CaMK II δ gene, which is closely related to osteoclast differentiation, we utilized chitosan to encapsulate ABE CaMK II δ plasmids. We directly injected the plasmid cargo into the bone marrow cavity by intraosseous injection. Results showed a high in vivo editing efficiency of 14.27% at the A1 locus and 10.69% at the A2 locus in recipient mice. This novel strategy is not only particularly suitable for diseases caused by abnormal osteoclast function but also holds significant potential for advancing the field of gene therapy.