Phosphoproteomics analysis of male and female Schistosoma mekongi adult worms

Abstract

Schistosoma mekongi is one of the major causative agents of human schistosomiasis in Southeast Asia. Praziquantel is now the only drug available for treatment and there are serious concerns about parasite resistance to it. Therefore, a dataset of schistosome targets is necessary for drug development. Phosphorylation regulates signalling pathways to control cellular processes that are important for the parasite's growth and reproduction. Inhibition of key phosphoproteins may reduce the severity of schistosomiasis. In this research, we studied the phosphoproteomes of S. mekongi male and female adult worms by using computational and experimental approaches. Using a phosphoproteomics approach, we determined that 88 and 44 phosphoproteins were male- and female-biased, respectively. Immunohistochemistry using anti-phosphoserine antibodies demonstrated phosphorylation on the tegument and muscle of male S. mekongi worms and on the vitelline gland and gastrointestinal tract of female worms. This research revealed S. mekongi sex-dependent phosphoproteins. Our findings provide a better understanding of the role of phosphorylation in S. mekongi and could be integrated with information from other Schistosoma species to facilitate drug and vaccine development.

Figure 1

Venn diagram of predicted phosphoproteins using NetPhos 3.1 server of S. mekongi male and female worms.

Figure 2

2-DEs of male (a) and female (b) adult worm phosphoproteins visualized by Pro-Q Diamond staining.

Figure 3

2-DEs of male (a) and female (b) adult worm proteins visualized by silver staining.

Figure 4

Gene ontology classification according to biological process term of up-regulated phosphoproteins in S. mekongi male (a) and female (b) adult worms.

Figure 5

Immunoperoxidase staining of S. mekogi male and female adult worms. Anti-phosphoserine was used as primary antibody for visualizing phosphoserine in male and female worms. (A) Detection of phosphoserine in S. mekongi male by IHC, (B) Detection of phosphoserine in S. mekongi female by IHC, (C) Enlarged IHC image of male worm, (D) Enlarged IHC image of female worm.