Heterogeneity of class I and class II MHC sequences in Schistosoma japonicum from different endemic regions in mainland China

The present study examined sequence variation in class I and class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes among Schistosoma japonicum isolates from different endemic regions in mainland China and assessed the level of horizontal gene transfer and sequence similarity between parasites and their hosts. S. japonicum cercariae were used to infect male adult rabbits to obtain adult S. japonicum samples. A portion of the class I MHC gene (pMHC I) and class II MHC genes (pMHC II) were amplified separately from individual adult trematodes by polymerase chain reaction and sequenced. Among all the examined isolates of S. japonicum , sequence differences between male and female parasites were 0.0–26.6% for pMHC I and 0.0–7.0% for pMHC II. Sequence variations between male and female parasites among different geographical locations from the mountainous areas were 1.1–26.6% for pMHC I and 1.5–3.0% for pMHC II. Sequence variations between samples from Yunnan and those from Sichuan were 2.7–23.5% for pMHC I and 1.1–3.7% for pMHC II. In the lake/marshland areas, sequence variations between male and female parasites among different geographical locations were 0.0–25.0% for pMHC I and 0.0–7.0% for pMHC II. Sequence variations between S. japonicum isolates from mountainous areas, and those from lake/marshland areas were 0.0–26.1% for pMHC I and 0.4–6.1% for pMHC II. BLASTN analysis indicated that all the pMHC II sequences showed high homology to a portion of exon 3 in rabbit MHC class II DP beta gene with more than 89% similarity, and all the pMHC I sequences except isolates in Yunnan (Eryuan) revealed high homology to the portion of exon 2 in rabbit MHC I gene with more than 81% similarity. Phylogenetic analysis showed no specific clustering comprising parasites from single geographical or endemic regions, and the paired parasites were even found in different clusters. These results demonstrated that pMHC I and II of S. japonicum isolates in mainland China existed heterogeneity, but the pMHC I, II, or combined sequences were not suitable markers for examining genetic relationship among different isolates from endemic regions in mainland China.