Surface analysis of Dicrocoelium dendriticum. The molecular characterization of exosomes reveals the presence of miRNAs

The Role of Extracellular Vesicles in Modulating the Host Immune Response during Parasitic Infections

“…It is possible that helminths could send messengers like mRNA or miRNA into EVs to act on host targets. Supporting this notion, the presence of molecules of miRNA in D. dendriticum EVs has been reported (40). Preliminary studies have shown that the nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus produce EVs, which alter inflammatory responses in both cultured cells and in a murine model.…”

“…EVs from the trematode species Echinostoma caproni , Dicrocoelium dendriticum , and Fasciola hepatica have been isolated. The analysis of the composition of these vesicles has identified proteins previously described in the excretory/secretory products (ESP) (about 50% of proteins corresponded to the proteins identified in the secretome) (37, 40), which may explain the atypical protein secretion (lacking typical secretion signals) in flukes. These proteins include metabolic enzymes like enolase, GAPDH, aldolase, and well-known exosome components like Hsp70 and annexins (37, 40).…”

“…Differences in EVs composition were observed among the three species, correlated with their respective ESP. Meanwhile, no proteases were present in E. caproni EVs, D. dendriticum , and F. hepatica EVs contained leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), and F. hepatica EVs contained a large number of proteases (i.e., cathepsins), probably related to its migration along tissues (37, 40), as well as chaperons, fatty-acid binding proteins, and detoxifying enzymes (37). In addition to the presence of proteins in helminth EVs, the presence of miRNA in D. dendriticum EVs has been described (40).…”

Human Trichuriasis: Whipworm Genetics, Phylogeny, Transmission and Future Research Directions

“…Intriguingly, a few recent studies have shown that parasites also produce and excrete exosomes containing microRNA which can be internalized by host cells [70][71][72]. Interestingly, Buck et al (2014) have shown that exosomes secreted by the gastrointestinal nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus suppress the type 2 innate response in mice and activate specific immune genes in vitro [73].…”

sRNAbench: profiling of small RNAs and its sequence variants in single or multi-species high-throughput experiments

“…For example, HostMicrobe interactions have been studied at a small RNA level [28] and it has been shown that viral microRNAs play important roles in the infection process and the maintenance of a latent infection [29,30]. Furthermore, small RNAs have been detected in most studied bodily fluids opening the door for biomarker applications like the detection of parasite presence in released microvesicles called exosomes [31,32]. In order to analyze this kind of experimental assays, tools are needed that can treat with datasets obtained from more than one species.…”