Center for Global Health, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico and New Mexico VA Health Care System, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
Int J Biol Sci. 2011;7(9):1334-44. doi: 10.7150/ijbs.7.1334. Epub 2011 Nov 1.
Conventional methodologies to control vector borne diseases with chemical pesticides are often associated with environmental toxicity, adverse effects on human health and the emergence of insect resistance. In the paratransgenic strategy, symbiotic or commensal microbes of host insects are transformed to express gene products that interfere with pathogen transmission. These genetically altered microbes are re-introduced back to the insect where expression of the engineered molecules decreases the host's ability to transmit the pathogen. We have successfully utilized this strategy to reduce carriage rates of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, in the triatomine bug, Rhodnius prolixus, and are currently developing this methodology to control the transmission of Leishmania donovani by the sand fly Phlebotomus argentipes. Several effector molecules, including antimicrobial peptides and highly specific single chain antibodies, are currently being explored for their anti-parasite activities in these two systems. In preparation for eventual field use, we are actively engaged in risk assessment studies addressing the issue of horizontal gene transfer from the modified bacteria to environmental microbes.
传统的利用化学农药控制媒介传播疾病的方法往往与环境毒性、对人类健康的不利影响和昆虫抗药性的出现有关。在共生体转基因策略中，宿主昆虫的共生或共栖微生物被转化为表达基因产物，这些基因产物干扰病原体的传播。这些经过基因改造的微生物被重新引入昆虫体内，表达的工程分子降低了宿主传播病原体的能力。我们已经成功地利用这种策略降低了传播恰加斯病的克氏锥虫在三锥虫属臭虫中的携带率，目前正在开发这种方法来控制沙蝇传播的利什曼原虫。目前正在探索几种效应分子，包括抗菌肽和高度特异性的单链抗体，以研究它们在这两个系统中的抗寄生虫活性。为了最终在野外使用，我们正在积极进行风险评估研究，解决从改性细菌到环境微生物的水平基因转移问题。
