Comparative Proteomics of Schistosoma Japonicum Developed From Different Oncomelania Snails Permissive Areas

Background: Schistosomiasis is an important zoonotic parasitic disease that is widely prevalent in tropical and subtropical countries and regions in the worldwide.Methods: We aimed to analyze the proteomic differences between adult S. japonicum worms in Weishan Lake of Shandong province and the Jiangsu Yangtse river. Isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) assays were used to analyze the differential proteomic profiles between female and male adult worms.Results: A total of 2364 adult S. japonicum proteins were identified, and 1901 proteins were quantified by isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) technology. Our results revealed 68 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in female adult worms and 55 DEPs in male adult worms. LC-MS/MS and bioinformatics analysis indicated that these DEPs are enriched in cellular composition, molecular function, biological function and catabolism pathways. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and Domain and Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COG) analyses indicated that several groups of DEPs were involved in regulating transport, metabolism, signal transduction, energy production and conversion, defense and biosynthesis in adult S. japonicum worms. Our findings indicated that adult S. japonicum worms derived from O. hupensis that were transferred from permissive to nonpermissive areas exhibited moderate changes at the proteomic level. Moreover, snails transferred to the Weishan Lake did not change their schistosomiasis transmission ability and remained pathogenic in mice. In addition, three upregulated proteins (peptidylprolyl isomerase, heat shock protein 90α and receptor expression-enhancing protein (Q5DBJ1)) and three downregulated proteins (histone H3, histone H4 and receptor expression-enhancing protein (C1L9D7)) were found in both female and male adult worms. Conclusions: Proteomic analysis showed that differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) between adult S. japonicum worms in Weishan Lake of Shandong province and the Jiangsu Yangtse river. The results of this proteomics analysis of adult worms that hatched in two separate intermediate hosts help to improve our understanding of the growth and developmental mechanisms of S. japonicum in different environments. Under the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP) framework, long-term surveillance is needed to prevent the diffusion of O. hupensis and to reduce the risk of schistosomiasis transmission.