Transcriptional profiles of adult male and female Schistosoma japonicum in response to insulin reveal increased expression of genes involved in growth and development

Microarray analysis was used to investigate differential gene regulation in adult male and female Schistosoma japonicum cultured in the presence or absence of insulin in vitro. A total of 1,101 genes were up- or down-regulated in response to insulin, the majority of differential expression occurring 24 h after the addition of insulin to the cultures. Genes differentially expressed in male or female worms were predominantly involved in growth and development, with significant sex-specific differences in transcriptional profiles evident. Insulin appeared to promote protein synthesis and control protein degradation more prominently in male parasites. The study also indicated that insulin plays a more pronounced role in the uptake of glucose in unpaired female parasites, as reflected in the increased stimulation of gene expression of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase sub-pathway of insulin signalling. Insulin may also impact on the sexual differentiation and fecundity of female schistosomes by activation of the mitogenic-activated protein kinase sub-pathway.