The Schistosoma mansoni nuclear receptor FTZ-F1 maintains esophageal gland function via transcriptional regulation of meg-8.3

Aracely A. Romero, Sarah A. Cobb, Julie N.R. Collins, Steven A. Kliewer, David J. Mangelsdorf, James J. Collins

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere1010140
JournalPLoS pathogens
Volume17
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2021

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Parasitology
  • Microbiology
  • Immunology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics
  • Virology

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