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Liu T, Wang J, Li X, Yu S, Zheng D, Liu Z, Yang X, Wang Y. Human Defensin 5 Inhibits Plasmodium yoelii Development in Anopheles stephensi by Promoting Innate Immune Response. Trop Med Infect Dis 2024; 9:169. [PMID: 39195607 PMCID: PMC11360097 DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed9080169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2024] [Revised: 07/23/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Malaria poses a serious threat to human health. Existing vector-based interventions have shortcomings, such as environmental pollution, strong resistance to chemical insecticides, and the slow effects of biological insecticides. Therefore, the need to develop novel strategies for controlling malaria, such as reducing mosquito vector competence, is escalating. Human defensin 5 (HD5) has broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. To determine its effect on Plasmodium development in mosquitoes, HD5 was injected into Anopheles stephensi at various time points. The infection density of Plasmodium yoelii in An. stephensi was substantially reduced by HD5 treatment administered 24 h prior to infection or 6, 12, or 24 h post-infection (hpi). We found that HD5 treatment upregulated the expression of the innate immune effectors TEP1, MyD88, and Rel1 at 24 and 72 hpi. Furthermore, the RNA interference of MyD88, a key upstream molecule in the Toll signaling pathway, decreased the HD5-induced resistance of mosquitoes against Plasmodium infection. These results suggest that HD5 microinjection inhibits the development of malaria parasites in An. stephensi by activating the Toll signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tingting Liu
- Department of Tropical Medicine, College of Military Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China; (T.L.)
| | - Jing Wang
- Department of Tropical Medicine, College of Military Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China; (T.L.)
| | - Xin Li
- Department of Tropical Medicine, College of Military Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China; (T.L.)
| | - Shasha Yu
- Department of Tropical Medicine, College of Military Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China; (T.L.)
| | - Dan Zheng
- Department of Tropical Medicine, College of Military Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China; (T.L.)
- School of Public Health, the Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Monitoring and Disease Control, Ministry of Education, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Zhilong Liu
- Department of Tropical Medicine, College of Military Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China; (T.L.)
| | - Xuesen Yang
- Department of Tropical Medicine, College of Military Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China; (T.L.)
| | - Ying Wang
- Department of Tropical Medicine, College of Military Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China; (T.L.)
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Aygün S, Düzlü Ö, Yıldırım A. Molecular Characterization and Expression Analysis of the Sterol-carrier Protein-2 Fragment in Anopheles sacharovi Generations. TURKIYE PARAZITOLOJII DERGISI 2022; 46:312-321. [PMID: 36444407 DOI: 10.4274/tpd.galenos.2022.68553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Objective It was aimed to characterize the sterol carrier protein-2 (SCP-2) gene in Anopheles sacharovi using molecular methods for the first time, and to reveal the expression levels of An. sacharovi in the developmental stages and female generation in different tissues such as salivary gland, midgut and adipose tissue. Methods The adult female An. sacharovi collected from the Sultan Sazlığı region and the development stages in the insectarium constituted the study material. cDNA isolation was performed following total RNA extraction from An. sacharovi strains. The 216 bp fragment of the SCP-2 gene was amplified with optimized primers in cDNA templates and was sequenced. Genetic characterization of the sequences was provided in silico analysis. Results Twelve of the SCP-2 nucleotide sequences of 14 isolates included in the sequence analysis were 100% identical and the SCP-2 sequences of the other two isolates that were homologous to each other showed a single nucleotide change at base 183. The 216 bp fragment of the SCP-2 gene region was found encoding the 72 amino acid chain. SCP-2 gene sequences clustered the isolates monophyletically on the basis of mosquito species and strains, and that Anopheles sacharovi isolates formed a subcluster together with Anopheles stephensi and Anopheles funestus within the Anopheles cluster in phylogenetic analysis. Because of q-polymerase chain reaction-mediated expression analysis, SCP-2 gene was expressed highest in adult males, followed by an adult female, ss L4, L3, L2, L1, and pupal stages, respectively. In adult female tissues, the SCP-2 gene was expressed the highest in the fat body, followed by the midgut and salivary glands, respectively. Conclusion SCP2, which is an important vaccine candidate or target drug site for Anopheles sacharovi with high vector potential, was firstly characterized in this study and the developmental stages and expression differences in the tissues of the mosquito were revealed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sümeyye Aygün
- Erciyes Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi, Parazitoloji Anabilim Dalı, Kayseri, Türkiye
| | - Önder Düzlü
- Erciyes Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi, Parazitoloji Anabilim Dalı, Kayseri, Türkiye
| | - Alparslan Yıldırım
- Erciyes Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi, Parazitoloji Anabilim Dalı, Kayseri, Türkiye
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Fongsaran C, Jirakanwisal K, Tongluan N, Latour A, Healy S, Christofferson RC, Macaluso KR. The role of cofeeding arthropods in the transmission of Rickettsia felis. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022; 16:e0010576. [PMID: 35759517 PMCID: PMC9269922 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Rickettsia felis is an emerging etiological agent of rickettsioses worldwide. The cosmopolitan cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) is the primary vector of R. felis, but R. felis has also been reported in other species of hematophagous arthropods including ticks and mosquitoes. Canines can serve as a bacteremic host to infect fleas under laboratory conditions, yet isolation of R. felis from the blood of a vertebrate host in nature has not been realized. Cofeeding transmission is an efficient mechanism for transmitting rickettsiae between infected and uninfected fleas; however, the mechanism of transmission among different orders and classes of arthropods is not known. The potential for R. felis transmission between infected fleas and tick (Dermacentor variabilis) and mosquito (Anopheles quadrimaculatus) hosts was examined via cofeeding bioassays. Donor cat fleas infected with R. felis transmitted the agent to naïve D. variabilis nymphs via cofeeding on a rat host. Subsequent transstadial transmission of R. felis from the engorged nymphs to the adult ticks was observed with reduced prevalence in adult ticks. Using an artificial host system, An. quadrimaculatus exposed to a R. felis-infected blood meal acquired rickettsiae and maintained infection over 12 days post-exposure (dpe). Similar to ticks, mosquitoes were able to acquire R. felis while cofeeding with infected cat fleas on rats infection persisting in the mosquito for up to 3 dpe. The results indicate R. felis-infected cat fleas can transmit rickettsiae to both ticks and mosquitoes via cofeeding on a vertebrate host, thus providing a potential avenue for the diversity of R. felis-infected arthropods in nature. Primarily associated with the common cat flea, Rickettsia felis is an intracellular bacterial pathogen that can be transmitted from the flea to vertebrate hosts. This flea-borne infection has now been identified worldwide as a human pathogen. In addition to fleas, other blood feeding arthropods including ticks and mosquitoes are being recognized as possible vectors of R. felis. Although the mammalian infectious source for arthropods is still unknown, cofeeding transmission of Rickettsia is known to occur between vectors of the same species. However, potential for flea transmission of R. felis to other orders and classes of arthropods is unknown. Here, we examined the potential for fleas to transmit R. felis to American dog ticks and mosquitoes during feeding events on rat hosts. Our data suggested that ticks and mosquitoes can be infected when simultaneously feeding on a host with R. felis-infected cat fleas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chanida Fongsaran
- Vector-Borne Disease Laboratories, Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America
| | - Krit Jirakanwisal
- Vector-Borne Disease Laboratories, Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama, United States of America
| | - Natthida Tongluan
- Vector-Borne Disease Laboratories, Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama, United States of America
| | - Allison Latour
- Vector-Borne Disease Laboratories, Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America
| | - Sean Healy
- Vector-Borne Disease Laboratories, Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America
| | - Rebecca C. Christofferson
- Vector-Borne Disease Laboratories, Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America
| | - Kevin R. Macaluso
- Vector-Borne Disease Laboratories, Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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