Multi-organ transcriptomic profiling reveals tissue-dependent responses of Monopterus albus to Pallisentis (Neosentis) celatus infection

Acanthocephalan infections are a major constraint on swamp eel ( Monopterus albus ) production, yet how hosts coordinate systemic responses beyond the intestinal infection site remains poorly understood. Here, we profiled multi-organ transcriptomic responses associated with natural infection by the intestinal acanthocephalan Pallisentis (Neosentis) celatus . RNA-seq was performed on the intestine, liver, kidney, and spleen from infected and acanthocephalan-negative eels, followed by differential-expression, functional-enrichment, and multi-level co-expression network analyses. Infection status was associated with strongly tissue-dependent transcriptional programs and limited overlap of differentially expressed genes across organs. Intestinal and hepatic responses involved bile-acid, xenobiotic, and other metabolic pathways, whereas kidney responses involved cytoskeletal, junctional, and membrane-signaling pathways. The spleen showed the most prominent immune-related transcriptional remodeling. Network analysis identified a spleen-derived infection-associated module enriched for endocytosis/phagosome and cellular quality-control processes, although individual module genes showed mixed directions and most did not meet the single-gene differential-expression threshold. Gene set variation analysis further showed higher macrophage-associated and lower T-cell-associated signatures in infected spleens. Together, the results define organ-stratified transcriptional associations with natural P. (N.) celatus infection and prioritize candidate pathways and modules for future functional validation.