{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]],"date-time":"2026-01-23T09:32:28Z","timestamp":1769160748044,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,18]],"date-time":"2025-07-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1752796800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Qinghai Provincial Health and Health System","award":["2022wjzdx-35"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022wjzdx-35"]}]},{"name":"Qinghai Provincial Health and Health System","award":["2023-QY-202"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023-QY-202"]}]},{"name":"public health service capacity for the prevention and control of major infectious diseases in Qinghai Province","award":["2022wjzdx-35"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022wjzdx-35"]}]},{"name":"public health service capacity for the prevention and control of major infectious diseases in Qinghai Province","award":["2023-QY-202"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023-QY-202"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Genes"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Alveolar echinococcosis (AE), caused by Echinococcus multilocularis larvae, poses a significant global health concern. Primarily affecting regions in the northern hemisphere, such as northwest China, which are vital for animal husbandry, it often results in severe hepatic impairment in the host. However, there remains a dearth of knowledge concerning changes in gene expression profiles during the progression of AE. In this study, we employed transcriptome sequencing (RNA sequencing, RNA-Seq) to detect alterations in gene expression profiles in the liver tissues of mice with AE. Our aims were to understand the transcriptome differences in the liver during E. multilocularis infection and to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying the early progression of this disease. Methods: We established a mouse model of AE by intraperitoneally injecting protoscoleces of E. multilocularis. All the inoculated mice were randomly divided into four groups. Liver tissues were collected at 6, 12, 19, and 25 weeks after inoculation. Paired non-infected mouse-derived liver tissues were used as controls, and transcriptome sequencing was carried out. Results: A total of 629 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Among them, 370 genes were upregulated and 259 genes were downregulated. Moreover, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses indicated that these DEGs were significantly associated with immune system modulation, the cell cycle, and the fibrosis process during the pathological changes. Additionally, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) identified several genes, including CCNA2, BIRC5, KIF2C, OTC, TLR2, and NCKAP1L. These hub genes involved in immunoinflammatory processes may be related to E. multilocularis larvae infection. Conclusions: The findings of this research provide a theoretical foundation for a more in-depth understanding of the molecular mechanisms of AE. They offer valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms and potential key factors involved in the pathogenesis of this disease.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/genes16070839","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,18]],"date-time":"2025-07-18T13:33:27Z","timestamp":1752845607000},"page":"839","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Transcriptomic Profiling Reveals Gene Expression Changes in Mouse Liver Tissue During Alveolar Echinococcosis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Xiongying","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, China"},{"name":"Qinghai Institute of Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining 811602, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Qing","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qinghai Institute of Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining 811602, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Na","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qinghai Institute of Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining 811602, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jia","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qinghai Institute of Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining 811602, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Huixia","family":"Cai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qinghai Institute of Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining 811602, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Cunzhe","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qinghai Institute of Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining 811602, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kemei","family":"Shi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qinghai Institute of Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining 811602, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wen","family":"Lei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qinghai Institute of Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining 811602, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wanli","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qinghai Institute of Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining 811602, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shuai","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qinghai Institute of Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining 811602, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wei","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qinghai Institute of Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining 811602, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xiao","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qinghai Institute of Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining 811602, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4483-7286","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mei","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105921","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actatropica.2021.105921","article-title":"Advances in research on echinococcoses epidemiology in China","volume":"219","author":"Fu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Acta Trop."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"779","DOI":"10.1016\/j.arbres.2019.07.014","article-title":"Relevance of Pulmonary Alveolar Echinococcosis","volume":"56","author":"Aydin","year":"2020","journal-title":"Arch. 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