The study, published today inNature Communications, identified 13 different types of cells inside the worm in
This parasite has a complex life cycle.It starts in rivers and lakes. In the form of larvae, parasites enter the human body through the skin after contact with contaminated water. Once inside the body, schistosomes begin the intra-mammalian stage of their life cycle, which is accompanied by a series of developmental transitions as they mature.
Adult worms live in blood vesselshumans and reproduce, releasing eggs that pass from the body into water to continue the life cycle. But some eggs get stuck in the body, which leads to a dangerous disease - schistosomiasis.
Schistosomiasis is a long-term disease thatmay result in disability, organ damage and death. It affects hundreds of millions of people every year, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, and is listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a tropical disease of greatest concern. There is currently only one drug available to treat the disease, but it is not suitable for use in very young children, and there are concerns that over-reliance on a single treatment will allow parasites to develop resistance to the drug.
Researchers are looking for new drug targets, but until now, scientists did not have a high-resolution understanding of the parasite's biology.
The new research was aimed atdisplay of all cells in the first stage of the parasite inside mammals using unicellular technology that identifies the different types of cells present in the body or tissue.
The early parasites were divided intoindividual cells that have been characterized by single-cell RNA sequencing by scientists at the Senger Institute. The data was then analyzed to determine the types of cells in accordance with the genes expressed by individual cells and the location in the body of these cells.
The team identified 13 different cell types, including previously unknown ones from the nervous and parenchymal systems.
To identify new drug targets,researchers are most often looking for differences between a pathogen and its human host. However, S. mansoni is much closer to us from an evolutionary point of view than most of the main parasites, such as those causing malaria. It is hoped that these results will reveal areas of the parasite's genetic code that are quite different from our own.
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