MicroRNA-gene expression network in murine liver during Schistosoma japonicum infection. Mus musculus

Schistosomiasis japonica remains a significant public health problem in China and Southeast Asian countries. The most typical and serious outcome of the chronic oriental schistosomiasis is the progressive granuloma and fibrosis in the host liver, which has been a major medical challenge. However, the molecular mechanisms that underlie the hepatic pathogenesis induced by schistosomal egg deposition have not yet been well-defined. Using microarrays, we quantified the temporal gene expression profiles in the liver of Schistosoma japonicum-infected BALB/c mice at day 15, 30, and 45 post infection (pi) with that from uninfected mice as controls. Meanwhile, microRNA expression profiles from the same samples were decoded by parallel solexa sequencing. Gene expression alternation associated with liver damage was observed even at early stage of infection (e.g., pi 15), which became more magnificent onset of egg deposition within the liver tissue. Up-regulated genes were dominantly associated with inflammatory infiltration of liver during S. japonicum infection, whereas down-regulated genes primarily led to the hepatic functional disorders. More than 130 miRNAs were differentially expressed during S. japonicum infection, and dynamic miRNA-gene co-expression network has been constructed during the development of hepatic pathology. Overall design: A four chip study using total RNA recovered from liver tissues of BALB/c mice which were percutaneously infected with 30 ± 2 cercariae of S. japonicum at day 0, 15, 30, and 45 post infection, respectively.