Hernández-Martínez Salvador, Sánchez-Zavaleta Minerva, Brito Kevin, Herrera-Ortiz Antonia, Ons Sheila, Noriega Fernando G
Centro de Investigaciones Sobre Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
Laboratorio de Neurobiología de Insectos. Centro Regional de Estudios Genómicos. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. La Plata, Argentina.
PLoS One. 2017 Apr 20;12(4):e0175759. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175759. eCollection 2017.
Allatotropins (AT) are neuropeptides with pleotropic functions on a variety of insect tissues. They affect processes such as juvenile hormone biosynthesis, cardiac rhythm, oviduct and hindgut contractions, nutrient absorption and circadian cycle. The present work provides experimental evidence that AT elicits immune responses in two important mosquito disease vectors, Anopheles albimanus and Aedes aegypti. Hemocytes and an immune-competent mosquito cell line responded to AT by showing strong morphological changes and increasing bacterial phagocytic activity. Phenoloxidase activity in hemolymph was also increased in Ae. aegypti mosquitoes treated with AT but not in An. albimanus, suggesting differences in the AT-dependent immune activation in the two species. In addition, two important insect immune markers, nitric oxide levels and expression of antimicrobial peptide genes, were increased in An. albimanus guts after AT treatment. AT conjugated to quantum dot nanocrystals (QDots) specifically labeled hemocytes in vivo in both mosquito species, implying molecular interactions between AT and hemocytes. The results of our studies suggest a new role for AT in the modulation of the immune response in mosquitoes.
促咽侧体素(AT)是一类对多种昆虫组织具有多种功能的神经肽。它们影响诸如保幼激素生物合成、心律、输卵管和后肠收缩、营养吸收以及昼夜节律等过程。目前的研究工作提供了实验证据,表明AT在两种重要的蚊媒——白纹伊蚊和埃及伊蚊中引发免疫反应。血细胞和具有免疫活性的蚊细胞系对AT产生反应,表现出强烈的形态变化并增强细菌吞噬活性。用AT处理的埃及伊蚊血淋巴中的酚氧化酶活性也有所增加,但白纹伊蚊中未增加,这表明两种物种中依赖AT的免疫激活存在差异。此外,在白纹伊蚊肠道中,两种重要的昆虫免疫标志物——一氧化氮水平和抗菌肽基因的表达在AT处理后增加。与量子点纳米晶体(量子点)偶联的AT在两种蚊体内均能特异性标记血细胞,这意味着AT与血细胞之间存在分子相互作用。我们的研究结果表明AT在调节蚊子免疫反应中具有新作用。