Systems biomedical analysis of Schistosoma japonicum

Abstract

Human schistosomiasis, caused mainly by three principal species including Schistosoma japonicum, S. mansoni, and S. hematobium, remains a major public health concern worldwide. S. japonicum is prevalent in southern China, being a major disease risk for 66 million people. The blood fluke has a complex life cycle for survival: as a free-living form in fresh water and as a parasite in the snail intermediate and vertebrate definitive hosts. Systems-based biomedical analyses, including genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabonomic approaches, have been performed on the schistosome. These comprehensive investigations have not only characterized the genomic features but also chartered gene and protein expression profiles across genders and developmental stages. The integration of the huge information will lay a global and solid foundation for the molecular architecture of the biology, pathogenesis, and host-parasite interactions of the human blood fluke, which will facilitate the development of a new antischistosomal vaccine and drugs as well as diagnostic markers for the treatment and control of schistosomiasis.

Keywords

Schistosoma japonicum / systems biomedical analysis