The mechanism of resistance to the anthelmintic levamisole in parasitic nematodes is poorly understood, although there is some evidence implicating changes in expression of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunit genes. Hence, in order to define levamisole resistance mechanisms in some Australian field-derived isolates of Haemonchus contortus we examined gene expression patterns and SNPs in nAChR subunit genes, as well as expression levels for P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and receptor ancillary protein genes, in various life stages of one levamisole-sensitive and three levamisole-resistant isolates of this species. Larvae of two isolates showed high-level resistance to levamisole (resistance ratios at the IC50 > 600) while the third isolate showed a degree of heterogeneity, with a resistance factor of only 1.1-fold at the IC50 alongside the presence of a resistant subpopulation. Transcription patterns for nAChR subunit genes showed a great degree of variability across the different life stages and isolates. The most consistent observation was the down-regulation of Hco-unc-63a in adults of all resistant isolates. Transcription of this gene was also reduced in the L3 stage of the two most resistant isolates, highlighting its potential as a resistance marker in the readily accessible free-living stages. There was down regulation of all four Hco-unc-29 paralogs in adults of one resistant isolate. There were no consistent changes in expression of P-gps or ancillary protein genes across the resistant isolates. The present study has demonstrated a complex pattern of nAChR subunit gene expression in H. contortus, and has highlighted several instances where reduced expression of subunit genes (Hco-unc-63a, Hco-unc-29) may be associated with the observed levamisole resistance. The data also suggests that it will be difficult to detect resistance using gene transcription-based methods on pooled larval samples from isolates containing only a resistant subpopulation due to the averaging of gene expression data across the whole population.
This study investigated the interaction of ATP binding cassette (ABC) transport proteins with ivermectin (IVM) and levamisole (LEV) in larvae of susceptible and resistant isolates of Haemonchus contortus in vitro by measuring transcription patterns following exposure to these anthelmintics. Furthermore, we studied the consequences of drug exposure by measuring the sensitivity of L3 to subsequent exposure to higher drug concentrations using larval migration assays. The most highly transcribed transporter genes in both susceptible and resistant L3 were pgp-9.3, abcf-1, mrp-5, abcf-2, pgp-3, and pgp-10. The resistant isolate showed significantly higher transcription of pgp-1, pgp-9.1 and pgp-9.2 compared to the susceptible isolate. Five P-gp genes and the haf-6 gene showed significantly higher transcription (up to 12.6-fold) after 3 h exposure to IVM in the resistant isolate. Similarly, five P-gp genes, haf-6 and abcf-1 were transcribed at significantly higher levels (up to 10.3-fold) following 3 h exposure to LEV in this isolate. On the other hand, there were no significant changes in transcriptional patterns of all transporter genes in the susceptible isolate following 3 and 6 h exposure to IVM or LEV. In contrast to these isolate-specific transcription changes, both isolates showed an increase in R-123 efflux following exposure to the drugs, suggesting that the drugs stimulated activity of existing transporter proteins in both isolates. Exposure of resistant larvae to IVM or LEV resulted, in some instances, in an increase in the proportion of the population able to migrate at the highest IVM concentrations in subsequent migration assays. The significant increase in transcription of some ABC transporter genes following 3 h exposure to both IVM and LEV in the resistant isolate only, suggests that an ability to rapidly upregulate protective pathways in response to drugs may be a component of the resistance displayed by this isolate.
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