Open AccessThe Schistosoma mansoni nuclear receptor FTZ-F1 maintains esophageal gland function via transcriptional regulation of meg-8.3
Author(s) -
Aracely A. Romero,
Sarah A. Cobb,
Steven A. Kliewer,
David J. Mangelsdorf,
James J. Collins
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos pathogens
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.719
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1553-7374
pISSN - 1553-7366
DOI - 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010140
Subject(s) - schistosoma mansoni , function (biology) , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , nuclear receptor , receptor , anatomy , gene , immunology , helminths , transcription factor , schistosomiasis , genetics
Schistosomes infect over 200 million of the world’s poorest people, but unfortunately treatment relies on a single drug. Nuclear hormone receptors are ligand-activated transcription factors that regulate diverse processes in metazoans, yet few have been functionally characterized in schistosomes. During a systematic analysis of nuclear receptor function, we found that an FTZ-F1-like receptor was essential for parasite survival. Using a combination of transcriptional profiling and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), we discovered that the micro-exon gene meg-8 . 3 is a transcriptional target of SmFTZ-F1. We found that both Smftz-f1 and meg-8 . 3 are required for esophageal gland maintenance as well as integrity of the worm’s head. Together, these studies define a new role for micro-exon gene function in the parasite and suggest that factors associated with the esophageal gland could represent viable therapeutic targets.