Fig 1.
Flowchart of serum sample collection and study design.
(A) Collection of serum samples from mice at different time points post-S. japonicum infection. (B) Collection of serum samples from S. japonicum-infected patients and healthy individuals. (C) Collection of serum samples from mice with early S. japonicum infection. (D) Collection of serum samples from mice pre- and post-praziquantel treatment. (E) Collection of serum samples from mice with different infection intensities.
Fig 2.
Morphological characteristics of S. japonicum adult worm- or egg-derived exosomes under transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Nanoparticle tracking analysis.
A: TEM image of adult worm-derived exosomes; B: TEM image of egg-derived exosomes; C: Size distribution of adult worm-derived exosomes; D: Size distribution of egg-derived exosomes.
Table 1.
The top 9 miRNAs Expressed in the Exosomes of S. japonicum Adults and Eggs.
Fig 3.
Changes in levels of parasite-derived miRNAs in mouse serum at different time points before and after S. japonicum infection.
A: sja-miR-125b; B: sja-miR-71a; C: sja-miR-125; D: sja-miR-61; E: sja-miR-36-3p; F: sja-miR-1; G: sja-miR-71b-5p; H: sja-bantam; I: sja-miR-7-5p (Compared with pre-infection, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, **** p < 0.0001, ns, not significant).
Fig 4.
Levels of high-abundance miRNAs in sera of schistosomiasis patients.
Comparison of levels between S. japonicum patient and healthy control sera for (A) sja-miR-71a, (B) sja-miR-61, (C) sja-miR-36-3p, (D) sja-miR-1, (E) sja-miR-71b-5p, (F) sja-bantam, (G) sja-miR-7-5p. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for the detection of the 7 miRNAs in patient vs. healthy control sera: (H) sja-miR-71a, (I) sja-miR-61, (J) sja-miR-36-3p, (K) sja-miR-1, (L) sja-miR-71b-5p, (M) sja-bantam, (N) sja-miR-7-5p (* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, **** p < 0.0001, ns, not significant).
Table 2.
Sensitivity and Specificity of TaqMan RT-qPCR for Detection of miRNAs derived from exosomes of S. japonicum in Human Sera.
Table 3.
Sensitivity and Specificity of TaqMan RT-qPCR for Detection of miRNAs derived from exosomes of S. japonicum in Mice Sera at 2 weeks post-infection.
Table 4.
Sensitivity and Specificity of TaqMan RT-qPCR for Detection of miRNAs derived from exosomes of S. japonicum in Mice Sera at 6 weeks post-infection.
Fig 5.
Receiver operating characteristic (ROC)curves for detection of sja-miR-61 and sja-miR-7-5p in mouse serum at 2 and 6 weeks post-infection.
(A) ROC curve for sja-miR-61 detection at 2 weeks post infection; (B) ROC curve for sja-miR-7-5p detection at 2 weeks post infection; (C) Comparison of ROC curves for combined detection of sja-miR-7-5p and sja-miR-61 at 2 weeks post infection; (D) ROC curve for sja-miR-61 detection at 6 weeks post infection; (E) ROC curve for sja-miR-7-5p detection at 6 weeks post infection; (F) Comparison of ROC curves for combined detection of sja-miR-7-5p and sja-miR-61 at 6 weeks post infection.
Fig 6.
Decline and negative conversion of serum levels of sja-miR-61 and sja-miR-7-5p in S. japonicum-infected mice after praziquantel treatment.
Mice were treated with praziquantel at 6 weeks post infection in PZQ group. A: sja-miR-61; B: sja-miR-7-5p (Infection compared with PZQ group, ** p ＜ 0.01, *** p ＜ 0.001, **** p ＜ 0.0001, ns, not significant).
Fig 7.
Levels of circulating serum sja-miR-61 and sja-miR-7-5p in mice with different S. japonicum infection intensities.
(A) Adult worm burdens in mice 6 weeks post-infection with 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 cercariae. (B) Levels of sja-miR-61 in sera of mice with different infection intensities. (C) Levels of sja-miR-7-5p in sera of mice with different infection intensities. (Compared with pre-infection, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, **** p < 0.0001, ns, not significant).