title: Ubiquitin-specific proteases are differentially expressed throughout the Schistosoma mansoni life cycle.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The ubiquitination process can be reversed by deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs). These proteases are involved in ubiquitin processing, in the recovery of modified ubiquitin trapped in inactive forms, and in the recycling of ubiquitin monomers from polyubiquitinated chains. The diversity of DUB functions is illustrated by their number and variety of their catalytic domains with specific 3D architectures. DUBs can be divided into five subclasses: ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolases (UCHs), ubiquitin-specific proteases (USPs or UBPs), ovarian tumour proteases (OTUs), Machado-Joseph disease proteases (MJDs) and JAB1/MPN/Mov34 metalloenzymes (JAMMs).
  
  
  METHODS
  Considering the role that the ubiquitin-proteasome system has been shown to play during the development of Schistosoma mansoni, our main goal was to identify and characterize SmUSPs. Here, we showed the identification of putative ubiquitin-specific proteases using bioinformatic approaches. We also evaluated the gene expression profile of representative USP family members using qRT-PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We reported 17 USP family members in S. mansoni that present a conservation of UCH domains. Furthermore, the putative SmUSP transcripts analysed were detected in all investigated stages, showing distinct expression during S. mansoni development. The SmUSPs exhibiting high expression profiles were SmUSP7, SmUSP8, SmUSP9x and SmUSP24.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  S. mansoni USPs showed changes in expression levels for different life cycle stages indicating their involvement in cellular processes required for S. mansoni development. These data will serve as a basis for future functional studies of USPs in this parasite.
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Morro do Cruzeiro, Ouro Preto, MG, Brasil. robertaverciano@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Roberta V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Genética e Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Patos de Minas, MG, Brasil. matheus@ingeb.ufu.br.
authors.forename: Matheus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de S Gomes
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Morro do Cruzeiro, Ouro Preto, MG, Brasil. roenick@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Roenick P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Olmo
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Morro do Cruzeiro, Ouro Preto, MG, Brasil. daniel.ufop@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Daniel M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Butantã, SP, Brasil. fjanku@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Fernanda J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Cabral
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil. passoslk@cpqrr.fiocruz.br.
authors.forename: Liana K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Jannotti-Passos
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil. elio.baba@cpqrr.fiocruz.br.
authors.forename: Elio H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Baba
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil. andressapbamonografia@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Andressa B P
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Andreolli
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil. vanderlei.rodrigues6@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Vanderlei
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Morro do Cruzeiro, Ouro Preto, MG, Brasil. wborges@iceb.ufop.br.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Castro-Borges
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Morro do Cruzeiro, Ouro Preto, MG, Brasil. rguerra@iceb.ufop.br.|Departamento de Ciências Biológicas/Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas - Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Biológicas - ICEB2, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Sala 045, Campus Morro do Cruzeiro, 35400-000, Ouro Preto, MG, Brasil. rguerra@iceb.ufop.br.
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Guerra-Sá
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny; D012550:Schistosoma mansoni / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D064570:Ubiquitin-Specific Proteases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015801:Helminth Proteins; D064570:Ubiquitin-Specific Proteases