Artesunate (ART) has high prophylactic efficacy against
Schistosoma japonicum infections and has been used to treat and prevent
schistosomiasis in China since 1995. However, the molecular mechanism of ART's effects on S. japonicum remains unclear. Herein, we applied isobaric tagging
reagents for relative and absolute quantification analyses coupled with two-dimensional liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry to investigate the effect of ART on the
proteome of S. japonicum in susceptible mice. 4529
proteins were quantified on the basis of 21,825 unique
peptides. Comparative proteomic analyses revealed that 145, 228 and 185
proteins were significantly differentially expressed after ART treatment in schistosomula, juvenile and adult worms, respectively. Ninety
proteins were differentially expressed between each two treatment groups in response to ART treatment: 67
proteins were associated with S. japonicum development/aging and 23 were specifically associated with ART treatment. Quantitative real-time PCR of selected genes verified the proteomic data. Gene ontology annotation and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathway mapping analysis showed that the majority of differentially expressed
proteins were involved in stress/defense/detoxification, signal transduction, carbohydrate metabolism,
amino acid metabolism, transcription/translation, and
protein synthesis/assembly/degradation. Thirty-four of the
proteins differentially expressed under ART treatment encoded hypothetical, uncharacterized
proteins with unknown functions. This study obtained the first comprehensive
protein expression profile of S. japonicum in response to ART, and provides a basis for a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of ART effects on S. japonicum.