Sex-Biased Expression of MicroRNAs in Schistosoma mansoni

Schistosomiasis is an important neglected tropical disease caused by digenean helminth parasites of the genus Schistosoma. Schistosomes are unusual in that they are dioecious and the adult worms live in the blood system. MicroRNAs play crucial roles during gene regulation and are likely to be important in sex differentiation in dioecious species. Here we characterize 112 microRNAs from adult Schistosoma mansoni individuals, including 84 novel microRNA families, and investigate the expression pattern in different sexes. By deep sequencing, we measured the relative expression levels of conserved and newly identified microRNAs between male and female samples. We observed that 13 microRNAs exhibited sex-biased expression, 10 of which are more abundant in females than in males. Sex chromosomes showed a paucity of female-biased genes, as predicted by theoretical evolutionary models. We propose that the recent emergence of separate sexes in Schistosoma had an effect on the chromosomal distribution and evolution of microRNAs, and that microRNAs are likely to participate in the sex differentiation/maintenance process

Clinical Characteristics, Iron Metabolism and Neuroinflammation: New Insight into Excessive Daytime Sleepiness in Parkinson’s Disease

Yang Hu,1 Peng Guo,1 Teng-Hong Lian,1 Li-Jun Zuo,1 Shu-Yang Yu,1 Li Liu,2 Zhao Jin,1 Qiu-Jin Yu,1 Rui-Dan Wang,1 Li-Xia Li,2 Ying-Shan Piao,3 Wei Zhang3– 7 1Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100070, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Internal Medicine, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100070, People’s Republic of China; 3Center for Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100070, People’s Republic of China; 4China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing, 100070, People’s Republic of China; 5Key Laboratory for Neurodegenerative Disorders of the Ministry of Education, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100069, People’s Republic of China; 6Center of Parkinson’s Disease, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, 100053, People’s Republic of China; 7Beijing Key Laboratory on Parkinson’s Disease, Beijing, 100053, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Wei ZhangCenter for Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100070, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +8613911996107Fax +86-10-59978429Email [email protected]: To investigate the clinical characteristics, iron metabolism and neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients with excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS).Methods: We studied 379 patients with PD and 30 age-matched controls. All subjects were evaluated by Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) and a series of rating scales and were divided into PD-EDS and PD-NEDS groups according to ESS score. The concentrations of iron and iron-related proteins and inflammatory cytokines in both cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum were examined.Results: 1. The occurrence rate of EDS in total PD patients was 16.09%. 2. PD-EDS group had significantly severer disease stages, more severe motor and non-motor features of the disease. 3. In CSF, the concentrations of iron and IL-1β in the PD-EDS group were significantly higher and ferritin concentration was prominently lower when compared with the PD-NEDS group and the control group; ESS score was significantly associated with high concentrations of iron and IL-1β and low concentration of ferritin in the PD group. Iron concentration was positively correlated with IL-1β concentration in the PD-EDS group. 4. In serum, no changes were observed in iron and iron-related proteins and inflammatory cytokines among the three groups.Conclusion: EDS was a common symptom in PD patients. PD patients with EDS had more severe motor and some non-motor symptoms. Overloaded iron-relevant inflammation in the brain might be an underlying mechanism of PD-EDS.Keywords: Parkinson disease, excessive daytime sleepiness, clinical features, iron metabolism, inflammatio