Abstract
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.
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