Spatiotemporal Transcriptomic Profiling Reveals the Dynamic Immunological Landscape of Alveolar Echinococcosis
Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is caused by the chronic infection of E. multilocularis, whose tumor-like growth can lead to high fatality if improperly treated. The early diagnosis of infection and the treatment of advanced AE remain challenging. Herein, bulk RNA-seq, scRNA-seq, and spatial transcriptomics technologies are integrated, to reveal the host immune response mechanism against E. multilocularis both spatially and chronologically, collecting mouse liver samples at multiple timepoints up to 15 months post infection. These results unveil an unprecedented high-resolution spatial atlas of the E. multilocularis infection foci and the functional roles of neutrophils, Spp1<sup>+</sup> macrophages, and fibroblasts during disease progression. The heterogeneity of neutrophil and macrophage subpopulations are critical in both parasite-killing and the occurrence of immunosuppression during AE progression. These findings indicate the transition of parasite control strategy from "active killing" to "negative segregation" by the host, providing instructive insights into the treatment strategy for echinococcosis.
Authors
- Zhihua Ou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1479-9007)
- Huanming Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0858-3410)
- Sha Liao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5825-5514)
- Wan‐Zhong Jia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0801-7478)
- Nian‐Zhang Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6368-5519)
- Xiuju He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0141-9906)
- Qian Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9040-3289)
- Yan‐Tao Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2411-382X)
- Yao‐Dong Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1863-8742)
- Xiurong Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8483-9337)
- Xiumin Han (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2859-1784)
- Huimin Cai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5945-5902)
- Jialing Chen
- Jiandong Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5857-8177)
- Guohai Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2756-8328)
- Xin Jin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2344-992X)
- Xue‐Qi Tian
- Ao Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9699-8340)
- Junhua Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6784-1873)
- Li Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6467-0247)
- Jian Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0788-6604)
- Xun Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5338-5173)
- Qi Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0658-7629)
- Fan He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1509-5845)
- Wenhui Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5361-8627)
- Qiming Tan
- Peidi Ren
- Hongbin Yan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0673-3916)
- Tingting Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0336-0410)
- Jie You (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2037-5366)
- Yanping Zhao
- Yingan Liang
- Xue‐Peng Cai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7804-0059)
- Bao‐Quan Fu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3938-1336)
- Weigang Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4880-8186)
- Jiwen Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2626-2144)
Institutions
- BGI Group (China) (CN)
- Jagiellonian University (PL)
- Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute (CN)
- Beijing Graphene Institute (CN)
- Military Geographical Institute (RS)
- Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN)
- China National GeneBank (CN)
- Qinghai Provincial Peoples Hospital (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- BGI Research (CN)
- Lanzhou University (CN)
- South China University of Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Science
- Published
- 2025-02-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202405914
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Parasitic infections in humans and animals
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.41
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program
- Natural Science Foundation of Qinghai