Molecular insights into the heat shock proteins of the human parasitic blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni.

Background: Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are evolutionarily conserved proteins, produced by cells in response to hostile environmental conditions, that are vital to organism homeostasis. Here, we undertook the first detailed molecular bioinformatic analysis of these important proteins and mapped their tissue expression in the human parasitic blood fluke, Schistosoma mansoni, one of the causative agents of the neglected tropical disease human schistosomiasis.

Methods: Using bioinformatic tools we classified and phylogenetically analysed HSP family members in schistosomes, and performed transcriptomic, phosphoproteomic, and interactomic analysis of the S.