title: Reconstruction and in silico analysis of the MAPK signaling pathways in the human blood fluke, Schistosoma japonicum.
abstract: At present, little is known about signal transduction mechanisms in schistosomes, which cause the disease of schistosomiasis. The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways, which are evolutionarily conserved from yeast to Homo sapiens, play key roles in multiple cellular processes. Here, we reconstructed the hypothetical MAPK signaling pathways in Schistosoma japonicum and compared the schistosome pathways with those of model eukaryote species. We identified 60 homologous components in the S. japonciumMAPK signaling pathways. Among these, 27 were predicted to be full-length sequences. Phylogenetic analysis of these proteins confirmed the evolutionary conservation of the MAPK signaling pathways. Remarkably, we identified S. japonicum homologues of GTP-binding protein beta and alpha-I subunits in the yeast mating pathway, which might be involved in the regulation of different life stages and female sexual maturation processes as well in schistosomes. In addition, several pathway member genes, including ERK, JNK, Sja-DSP, MRAS and RAS, were determined through quantitative PCR analysis to be expressed in a stage-specific manner, with ERK, JNK and their inhibitor Sja-DSP markedly upregulated in adult female schistosomes.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, New World Institute of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Mei-long Road, Shanghai 200237, PR China.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Fudong
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Brindley
authors.forename: Donald P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: McManus
authors.forename: Dongzhi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Zeguang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Yixue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D019295:Computational Biology; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D016208:Databases, Factual; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012549:Schistosoma japonicum / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D015801:Helminth Proteins