Transcriptomic Analysis of Gene Expression in Immune Pathways in the Spleen of Takifugu rubripes After Infection with Scuticociliate Uronema marinum.

Qingmeihui Sun, Yanqi Gao, Xiaohang Wang, Gengtong Zhao, Xiuli Wang, Ruijun Li

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Acta parasitologica, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Qingmeihui Sun *Liaoning Key Laboratory of Pufferfish Breeding and Culture, Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology, Dalian Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Disease Control and Prevention, College of Fisheries and Life Science, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China.

Yanqi Gao *Liaoning Key Laboratory of Pufferfish Breeding and Culture, Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology, Dalian Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Disease Control and Prevention, College of Fisheries and Life Science, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China.

Xiaohang WangLiaoning Key Laboratory of Pufferfish Breeding and Culture, Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology, Dalian Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Disease Control and Prevention, College of Fisheries and Life Science, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China.

Gengtong ZhaoLiaoning Key Laboratory of Pufferfish Breeding and Culture, Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology, Dalian Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Disease Control and Prevention, College of Fisheries and Life Science, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China.

Xiuli WangLiaoning Key Laboratory of Pufferfish Breeding and Culture, Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology, Dalian Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Disease Control and Prevention, College of Fisheries and Life Science, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China.

Ruijun LiLiaoning Key Laboratory of Pufferfish Breeding and Culture, Liaoning Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Immunology, Dalian Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Disease Control and Prevention, College of Fisheries and Life Science, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China. liruijun@dlou.edu.cn.

Funding

National Key Research and Development Program of China 2023YFC2812102

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study employed Illumina HiSeq™ 2000 sequencing to compare spleen transcriptomes of Uronema marinum-infected and healthy Takifugu rubripes. High-throughput analysis generated 25.6 Gb (infected) and 23.39 Gb (control) high-quality reads, meeting stringent quality standards (Q20 ≥ 98.3%, Q30 ≥ 95.1%). DESeq analysis identified 238 differentially expressed genes (116 upregulated/122 downregulated), functionally categorized into Gene Ontology (GO) domains: biological processes (54.03%), molecular functions (31.78%), and cellular components (14.19%). Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment revealed 62 signaling cascades, with 80% of the top 20 pathways involving immune regulation—including cytokine-receptor interactions, focal adhesion, Jak-STAT signaling, and IgA-mediated immunity. Core immune components (CXCR4, CCR9/CCL19, IL6R/IL12RB2) demonstrated coordinated regulation with ECM-RTK complexes and cytoskeletal modulators (RhoGAP, Paxillin). Mechanistically, PI3K-AKT/PKB signaling cascades emerged as central regulators, interacting with SHP2 phosphatases and Sprouty inhibitors to orchestrate anti-parasitic responses. Quantitative validation confirmed transcriptomic patterns, revealing > 85% concordance in immune gene expression. As the first comprehensive analysis of teleost immunity against scuticociliates, this work delineates evolutionarily conserved defense mechanisms in marine fish, including three novel regulatory axes: Toll-like receptor signaling for pathogen recognition, complement-mediated lysis cascades, and antigen processing/presentation pathways. These findings identify candidate molecular targets and immune pathway interactions, laying groundwork for future development of targeted anti-parasitic strategies in aquaculture systems.

Indexed as

CiliophoraCiliophora InfectionsFish DiseasesSpleenTakifuguTranscriptomeAnimalsGene Expression ProfilingGene Expression RegulationSignal TransductionProtective immunityTakifugu rubripesTranscriptomic analysisUronema marinum

Identifiers

PMID40576689

DOI10.1038/ni0403-313

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.