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Schistosoma japonicum protein SjP40 inhibits TGF-β1-induced activation of hepatic stellate cells

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Abstract

SjP40 is a major egg antigen of Schistosoma japonicum. In the present study, the authors investigated the effect of SjP40 in vitro on transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)- stimulated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). LX-2, an immortalized human HSC line, was treated with purified recombinant SjP40 (rSjP40) in the presence or absence of TGF-β1. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis were performed to determine messenger ribonucleic acid and protein of fibrogenic genes and TGF-β signaling pathway. The results showed that expression of fibrogenic genes was significantly reduced by rSjP40. Furthermore, rSjP40 also suppressed the TGF-β1-induced upregulation of Smads and ERK proteins. We also found that the effect of rSjP40 on HSCs was similar to SB431542, an inhibitor of type I TGF-β receptor. In conclusion, the data suggest that SjP40 attenuates HSC activation, which might be, at least in part, mediated by inhibiting the TGF-β and ERK signaling pathways.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Numbers 81471975, 81171589, and 81401683), the Jiangsu provincial Natural Science Foundation (Grant Number BK20140435), the Natural Science Research Project of the Colleges and Universities of Jiangsu Province (Grant Number 14KJD180002), the Natural Science Foundation of Nantong City (Grant Number BK2014033), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).

Conflicts of interest

The authors declared that no conflicts of interest existed in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathogen Biology, School of Medicine, Nantong University, 19 Qixiu Road, Nantong, 226001, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaolei Sun, Lingbo Zhang, Jianxin Wang, Jinling Chen, Dandan Zhu, Pei Shen, Xue He, Jing Pan, Wenxia Peng & Yinong Duan

  2. Laboratory Medicine Center, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Jianxin Wang & Pei Shen

  3. School of Medical Science and Laboratory Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Pei Shen

  4. Department of Pathology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 121 Jiangjiayuan, Nanjing, 210011, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Xue He

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  1. Xiaolei Sun
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  2. Lingbo Zhang
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  3. Jianxin Wang
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  4. Jinling Chen
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  7. Xue He
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  8. Jing Pan
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  9. Wenxia Peng
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  10. Yinong Duan
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Correspondence to Yinong Duan.

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Fig. S1

Morphology change of LX-2 cells. Morphology of LX-2 cells (200×) was observed with an inverted microscope. LX-2 cells with no treatment, represented as activated HSCs, displayed a flat phenotype. The cells treated with rSjP40 exhibited a more elongated cell phenotype. (GIF 65 kb)

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Sun, X., Zhang, L., Wang, J. et al. Schistosoma japonicum protein SjP40 inhibits TGF-β1-induced activation of hepatic stellate cells. Parasitol Res 114, 4251–4257 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-015-4663-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-015-4663-0

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