Abomasal RNA-seq reveals a strong local cellular response in suckling lambs with resistance against Haemonchus contortus

• Published in: International journal for parasitology 2023-11, Vol.53 (13), p.739-749
• Main Authors: Lins, José Gabriel Gonçalves, Albuquerque, Ana Cláudia Alexandre de, Almeida, Fabiana Alves de, Britton, Collette, Malossi, Camila, Araújo-Júnior, João Pessoa de, Louvandini, Helder, Amarante, Alessandro F.T.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Breed resistance; Gene expression; Immune response; Nematode; Transcriptome
• ISSN: 0020-7519; 1879-0135; 1879-0135
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2023.06.008

[Display omitted] •Innate immunity acted as a protagonist in impairing Haemonchus contortus infection.•Fifteen putative cell types might be involved in resistance to H. contortus.•Cellular antigen processing and presentation mechanisms may control the link between innate and adaptive immunity.•Santa Ines lambs showed the greatest gene expression profile in abomasal mucosa against H. contortus.•Polygenic architecture contributes to an early and effective immune response of resistant Santa Ines lambs. Santa Ines (SI) and Ile de France (IF) sheep are known to be resistant and susceptible to Haemonchus contortus infection, respectively. Several studies have shown some genes as potential biological markers for sheep resistance against gastrointestinal nematodes using molecular tools, including transcriptomic analysis. In this study, we sequenced the polyadenylated RNA of the abomasal tissue of SI and IF suckling lambs to identify mucosa-specific transcript alterations between breeds artificially infected with H. contortus. Naïve SI (n = 4) and IF (n = 4) lambs were artificially infected every other day, over a period of 52 days, from 14 to 66 days old, with a total of 5,400 H. contortus infective larvae. Fundic abomasal tissue samples were collected at 68 days old, and submitted to high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Differential expression analysis (P value