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Updated: May 23, 2026

Isolation and Characterization of Extracellular Vesicles from Adult Schistosoma japonicum
Published on: May 22, 2018
Having a pair: the key to immune evasion for the diploid pathogen Schistosoma japonicum
Xindong Xu1, Jun Sun, Jingjing Zhang
1Institute for Infectious Diseases and Vaccine Development, Tongji University School of Medicine, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China.
Abstract:
Schistosomes, unlike malaria parasites, are in their diploid stage when targeted by the human immune system. Diploids can be either homozygous or heterozygous. The difference has profound significance for developing immunity and yet has not previously been addressed. We examined the implications of zygosity on immunity to a diploid pathogen, Schistosoma japonicum and showed that the diploid state, and its associated heterozygous advantage, significantly affects the outcome of attack by the immune system and the accumulation of antigenic diversity in the parasite population. We demonstrate here that diploidy provides a novel means of immune evasion for diploid pathogens.
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