T-complex 11 like 1 is a male-specific blood transcript biomarker of S. mansoni infection in school-aged children
Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia, elicits a poorly suggestive transcriptional change in infected host. The present study explored blood mRNA next generation sequencing hits from 4 independent bioinformatic pipelines of carefully phenotyped school aged children (SAC) from S. mansoni endemic area in rural Cameroon. A shared identification of the upregulated expression of the T-complex 11 like 1 gene in S. mansoni-infected individuals was reported, specifically in males. Stringent gene-specific qPCR confirmed the male-specific upregulation of tcp11l1 during S. mansoni infection that was not apparent with other co-occurring infectious diseases such as malaria or hepatitis. Furthermore, tcp11l1 gene expression levels correlated positively with stool egg burden in infected male SAC strongly arguing for a role of this gene in the male host response to S. mansoni infection. Clinically, Receiver Operating Curve analysis unequivocally confirmed the good predictive potential of tcp11l1 gene expression levels in discriminating S. mansoni negative and S. mansoni positive male SAC from endemic areas. Finally, profiling of plasma metabolomics changes in SAC expressing varying levels of the tcp11l1 gene revealed a heightened solicitation of butanoate, glycerophospholipid and histidine metabolisms, associating with high expression, thus unveiling unprecedented functional cues on the role of this gene. Taken together, the case for a novel blood transcript biomarker of S. mansoni infection and its possible role in male SAC from endemic areas is hereby unprecedentedly made.