Proteomic and Phosphoproteomic Analysis of Adult Taenia saginata Revealed the Potential Importance of Cytoskeleton-Related Proteins

The adult Taenia saginata (T. saginata), a large tapeworm species, exclusively inhabits the human small intestine as its definitive host. Humans are infected by consuming undercooked beef contaminated with cysticerci of T. saginata, leading to taeniasis, a globally distributed zoonotic parasitic disease. The transmission of T. saginata significantly impacts public health and the livestock economy. Understanding its biological characteristics and developing novel control strategies are the focuses of research. In this study, proteomic and phosphoproteomic analyses were conducted on the scolex, immature proglottids, mature proglottids, and gravid proglottids of T. saginata adults. A total of 5803 proteins were identified, most of which were localized in the cytoplasm and membranes. Functional annotation analysis revealed significant enrichment in ribosome-related pathways, cell-activity-related pathways, and cytoskeleton protein pathways. The mature and gravid proglottids revealed substantial changes in cytoskeleton-related proteins and glycolysis pathways compared with other segments. Phosphoproteomic analysis also showed significant modifications in both pathways. Parallel Reaction Monitoring (PRM) validation confirmed that most proteins exhibited consistent quantitative trends with previous omics identification including some cytoskeleton proteins. Overall, our findings not only enhance the understanding of T. saginata biology and pathogenesis but also aid in the development of diagnostic and vaccine candidate molecules.