A TGF-β type I receptor-like molecule with a key functional role in Haemonchus contortus development

  • Int J Parasitol. 2018 Nov;48(13):1023-1033. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2018.06.005.
Li He  1 ,  Robin B Gasser  2 ,  Pasi K Korhonen  3 ,  Wenda Di  1 ,  Fangfang Li  1 ,  Hongrun Zhang  1 ,  Facai Li  4 ,  Yanqin Zhou  1 ,  Rui Fang  1 ,  Junlong Zhao  1 ,  Min Hu  5
Affiliations
  • 1. State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Key Laboratory for the Development of Veterinary Products, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, Hubei, China.
  • 2. State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Key Laboratory for the Development of Veterinary Products, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, Hubei, China; Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 3. Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
  • 4. State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Key Laboratory for the Development of Veterinary Products, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, Hubei, China; State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730046, Gansu, PR China.
  • 5. State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Key Laboratory for the Development of Veterinary Products, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, Hubei, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 30266591 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2018.06.005
Abstract

Here we investigated the gene of a transforming growth factor (TGF)-β type I receptor-like molecule in Haemonchus contortus, a highly pathogenic and economically important parasitic nematode of small ruminants. Designated Hc-tgfbr1, this gene is transcribed in all developmental stages of H. contortus, and the encoded protein has glycine-serine rich and kinase domains characteristic of a TGF-β family type I receptor. Expression of a GFP reporter driven by the putative Hc-tgfbr1 promoter localised to two intestinal rings, the anterior-most intestinal ring (int ring I) and the posterior-most intestinal ring (int ring IX) in Caenorhabditis elegans in vivo. Heterologous genetic complementation using a plasmid construct containing Hc-tgfbr1 genomic DNA failed to rescue the function of Ce-daf-1 (a known TGF-β type I receptor gene) in a daf-1-deficient mutant strain of C. elegans. In addition, a TGF-β type I receptor inhibitor, galunisertib, and double-stranded RNA interference (RNAi) were employed to assess the function of Hc-tgfbr1 in the transition from exsheathed L3 (xL3) to the L4 of H. contortus in vitro, revealing that both galunisertib and Hc-tgfbr1-specific double-stranded RNA could retard L4 development. Taken together, these results provide evidence that Hc-tgfbr1 is involved in developmental processes in H. contortus in the transition from the free-living to the parasitic stage.

Keywords
Development; Haemonchus contortus; RNA interference; TGF-β type I receptor.
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