Profiling of differentially expressed genes in sheep T lymphocytes response to an artificial primary Haemonchus contortus infection

Abstract

BackgroundHaemonchus contortus is a common bloodsucking nematode causing widespread economic loss in agriculture. Upon H. contortus infection, a series of host responses is elicited, especially those related to T lymphocyte immunity. Existing studies mainly focus on the general immune responses of sheep T lymphocyte to H. contortus, lacking investigations at the molecular level. The objective of this study was to obtain a systematic transcriptional profiling of the T lymphocytes in H. contortus primary-infected sheep.MethodsNematode-free sheep were orally infected once with H. contortus L3s. T lymphocyte samples were collected from the peripheral blood of 0, 3, 30 and 60 days post infection (dpi) infected sheep. Microarrays were used to compare gene transcription levels between samples. Quantitative RT-PCR was employed to validate the microarray data. Gene Ontology and KEGG pathway analysis were utilized for the annotation of differentially expressed genes.ResultsOur microarray data was consistent with qPCR results. From microarrays, 853, 242 and 42 differentially expressed genes were obtained in the 3d vs. 0d, 30d vs. 0d and 60d vs. 0d comparison groups, respectively. Gene Ontology and KEGG pathway analysis indicated that these genes were involved in metabolism, signaling, cell growth and immune system processes. Functional analysis of significant differentially expressed genes, such as SLC9A3R2, ABCB9, COMMD4, SUGT1, FCER1G, GSK3A, PAK4 and FCER2, revealed a crucial association with cellular homeostasis maintenance and immune response. Our data suggested that maintaining both effective immunological response and natural cellular activity are important for T lymphocytes in fighting against H. contortus infection.ConclusionsOur results provide a substantial list of candidate genes in sheep T lymphocytes response to H. contortus infection, and contribute novel insights into a general immune response upon infection.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-015-0844-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Chorioamnionitis Induces a Specific Signature of Placental ABC Transporters Associated with an Increase of miR-331-5p in the Human Preterm Placenta

“…ABCB9 is a lysosomal/endoplasmic reticulum transporter previously shown to be present in the testis, spinal cord and the brain [59, 60]. A role for ABCB9 has been proposed at the blood-testes barrier [59] and in T lymphocytes in response to infection [61]. However, its localization and function in the placental barrier, as well as its involvement to chorioamnionitis is yet to be determined.…”

Artificial Haemonchus contortus infection as a strategy to induce protective immune response to natural infection in Pelibuey lambs

“…This release and excretion/secretion of products induces a combination of humoral immunity, eosinophilia and mast cell hyperplasia that leads to changes in the abomasum mucosa causing expulsion of L3 and length reduction of L 4 , which may be related to the decrease in fertility in the adult stage (Karanu et al ., 1997; Bowdridge et al ., 2015). This early response to primary infection is genetically controlled and has been reported for RES sheep breeds in gene expression studies related to T LYM proliferation (Terefe et al ., 2007; Yang et al ., 2015) with complementary activation. Both are the first events in the host's immune responses to infection (Lee et al ., 2011; Valilou et al ., 2015; Guo et al ., 2016).…”

Analysis of pooled genome sequences from Djallonke and Sahelian sheep of Ghana reveals co-localisation of regions of reduced heterozygosity with candidate genes for disease resistance and adaptation to a tropical environment

“…Two of the genes ( IL20RA , PIK3CD ) were associated with resistance to experimental challenge with H. contortus [36]. In a gene expression study of deliberately infected Chinese Hu sheep, four genes ( ABCB9 , SUGT1 , PAK4 , FCER2) were found to contribute to the key immunological responses [39]. More recently, five of the genes ( AREG , KIT , IL17RB , CXCL12 , CLCR6) were also found to be up regulated in H. contortus resistant Canarian hair sheep [40].…”