Barreaux Antoine M G, Barreaux Priscille, Thomas Matthew B, Koella Jacob C
Laboratoire d'écologie et d'épidémioloigie parasitaire, Institut de biologie, Université de Neuchâtel; Merkle Lab, Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University;
Laboratoire d'écologie et d'épidémioloigie parasitaire, Institut de biologie, Université de Neuchâtel; Merkle Lab, Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University.
J Vis Exp. 2017 Jan 12(119):55013. doi: 10.3791/55013.
The stimulation of immune responses is a common tool in invertebrate studies to examine the efficacy and the mechanisms of immunity. This stimulation is based on the injection of non-pathogenic particles into insects, as the particles will be detected by the immune system and will induce the production of immune effectors. We focus here on the stimulation of the melanization response in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae. The melanization response results in the encapsulation of foreign particles and parasites with a dark layer of melanin. To stimulate this response, mosquitoes are inoculated with beads in the thoracic cavity using microcapillary glass tubes. Then, after 24 hr, the mosquitoes are dissected to retrieve the beads. The degree of melanization of the bead is measured using image analysis software. Beads do not have the pathogenic effects of parasites, or their capacity to evade or suppress the immune response. These injections are a way to measure immune efficacy and the impact of immune stimulations on other life history traits, such as fecundity or longevity. It is not exactly the same as directly studying host-parasite interactions, but it is an interesting tool to study immunity and its evolutionary ecology.
在无脊椎动物研究中，刺激免疫反应是检验免疫功效和机制的常用手段。这种刺激基于向昆虫体内注射非致病性颗粒，因为这些颗粒会被免疫系统检测到并诱导免疫效应物的产生。我们在此聚焦于冈比亚按蚊黑色素化反应的刺激。黑色素化反应会导致异物颗粒和寄生虫被一层黑色的黑色素包裹。为了刺激这种反应，使用微毛细管玻璃管将珠子接种到蚊子的胸腔中。然后，24小时后，解剖蚊子以取出珠子。使用图像分析软件测量珠子的黑色素化程度。珠子没有寄生虫的致病作用，也没有逃避或抑制免疫反应的能力。这些注射是一种测量免疫功效以及免疫刺激对其他生活史特征（如繁殖力或寿命）影响的方法。这与直接研究宿主 - 寄生虫相互作用并不完全相同，但它是研究免疫及其进化生态学的一个有趣工具。
