High-throughput dynamic analysis of differentially expressed genes in splenic dendritic cells from mice infected with Schistosoma japonicum

- Differentially expressed genes of DCs were annotated in uninfected and S. japonicum-infected mice.
- The Venn diagram revealed DEGs served in certain stages or the whole process of infection.
- Six DEGs about immune regulation were validated by qPCR.
- DCs develop a function of immune regulation in S. japonicum infection.

Dendritic cells are the initiation and key point of immune response and play a role in immune regulation. So we explored the mechanisms involved in immune regulation of dendritic cells (DCs) against schistosomiasis using mice infected with Schistosoma japonicum. Splenic DCs from normal mice and mice with acute and chronic S. japonicum infection were sorted by flow cytometry. The numbers and functions of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in DCs were determined by high-throughput analysis. All DEGs with transcription-level fold changes of ≥2 were selected and matched to corresponding genes in databases. Annotations and cluster analysis of DEGs were performed to compare differences between groups. Six important DEGs about immune regulation-CD86, TLR2, DC-SIGN, Capase3, PD-L2, and IL-7r were selected, and their transcription levels at different stages of schistosomisis were validated by qPCR. The Venn diagram of DEGs implied some genes are functional at all stages during S. japonicum infection, while others are only involved at certain stages. GO and KEGG pathway annotations indicated that these DEGs mainly belong to biological regulation, regulation of biological process, regulation of cellular process, antigen processing and presentation, cell adhesion molecules, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and Toll-like receptor signaling. Cluster analysis revealed immune regulation existed in splenic DCs. The results above indicated that the mechanisms underlying immune regulation to S. japonicum infection in mice are very complex. The present high-throughput dynamic analysis of DEGs in splenic DCs provides valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying immune regulation in S. japonicum infection.

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