Abstract
The schistosomulum is the main target of vaccine-induced protective immunity; however, most studies have utilized schistosomula produced by mechanical transformation of infective larvae followed by in vitro culture rather than larvae isolated directly from the lungs of infected mammals. Using transmission electron microscopy, we demonstrated that there was little difference in the ultrastructure of Schistosoma japonicum schistosomula obtained by the two methods. However, significant differences in gene expression profiles were apparent when we used an oligonucleotide microarray to compare the gene expression profiles of schistosomula obtained in vivo from lung tissue with those maintained in vitro, and with adult worms of S. japonicum. It is likely that host environmental factors, which cannot be reliably reproduced in vitro, do influence the growth, development and overall biology of schistosomes. Thus caution is urged when using in vitro-cultured schistosomes and mechanically transformed/cultured schistosomula in molecular, biochemical and immunological studies.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 919-929 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences |
Volume | 63 |
Issue number | 7-8 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 01 Apr 2006 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Culture conditions
- Gene expression
- Microarray
- Schistosoma japonicum
- Schistosomula
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology