Faculty Collaboration Database

Genetic analysis of praziquantel response in schistosome parasites implicates a transient receptor potential channel. Sci Transl Med 2021 Dec 22;13(625):eabj9114

Date

12/23/2021

Pubmed ID

34936381

Pubmed Central ID

PMC9491494

DOI

10.1126/scitranslmed.abj9114

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85122006029 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   40 Citations

Abstract

Mass drug administration with praziquantel (PZQ) monotherapy is considered the mainstay for control and elimination of the parasites causing schistosomiasis in humans. This drug shows imperfect cure rates in the field, and parasites showing reduced PZQ response can be selected in the laboratory, but the extent of resistance in Schistosoma mansoni populations is unknown. We examined the genetic basis of the variation in response in a PZQ-selected S. mansoni population (SmLE-PZQ-R) in which 35% of the parasitic worms survive high-dose PZQ (73 micrograms per milliliter) treatment. We used genome-wide association to map loci underlying PZQ response and identified a transient receptor potential (Sm.TRPM_PZQ) channel (Smp_246790) within the major chromosome 3 peak that is activated by nanomolar concentrations of PZQ. The PZQ response showed recessive inheritance and marker-assisted selection of parasites at a single Sm.TRPM_PZQ SNP that produced populations of PZQ-enriched resistant (PZQ-ER) and PZQ-enriched sensitive (PZQ-ES) parasites, exhibiting >377-fold difference in PZQ response. The PZQ-ER parasites survived treatment in rodents at higher frequencies compared with PZQ-ES, and resistant parasites exhibited 2.25-fold lower expression of Sm.TRPM_PZQ relative to sensitive parasites. Specific chemical blockers of Sm.TRPM_PZQ enhanced PZQ resistance, whereas Sm.TRPM_PZQ activators increased sensitivity. We surveyed Sm.TRPM_PZQ sequence variations in 259 parasites from different global sites and identified one nonsense mutation that resulted in a truncated protein with no PZQ binding site. Our results demonstrate that Sm.TRPM_PZQ underlies variation in PZQ responses in S. mansoni and provides an approach for monitoring emerging PZQ-resistant alleles in schistosome elimination programs.

Author List

Le Clec'h W, Chevalier FD, Mattos ACA, Strickland A, Diaz R, McDew-White M, Rohr CM, Kinung'hi S, Allan F, Webster BL, Webster JP, Emery AM, Rollinson D, Djirmay AG, Al Mashikhi KM, Al Yafae S, Idris MA, Moné H, Mouahid G, LoVerde P, Marchant JS, Anderson TJC

Author

Jonathan S. Marchant PhD Chair, Professor in the Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Animals
Anthelmintics
Genome-Wide Association Study
Parasites
Praziquantel
Schistosomiasis mansoni
Transient Receptor Potential Channels