Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia.
Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS), Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Aug 3;24(15):12398. doi: 10.3390/ijms241512398.
The insecticidal activity of sp. KSF103 ethyl acetate (EA) extract against mosquitoes is known; however, the underlying mechanism behind this activity remains elusive. In this study, liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was employed to investigate changes in the protein profile of larvae and adults treated with lethal concentrations of 50 (LC) EA extract. By comparing the treated and untreated mosquitoes, this study aimed to identify proteins or pathways that exhibit alterations, potentially serving as targets for future insecticide development. Treatment with a lethal concentration of EA extract upregulated 15 proteins in larvae, while in adults, 16 proteins were upregulated, and two proteins were downregulated. These proteins were associated with metabolism, protein regulation/degradation, energy production, cellular organization and structure, enzyme activity, and catalysis, as well as calcium ion transport and homeostasis. Notably, ATP synthase, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase (FBA), and ATP citrate synthase were significantly expressed in both groups. Gene ontology analysis indicated a focus on energy metabolic processes. Molecular docking revealed a strong interaction between dodemorph, selagine (compounds from the EA extract), and FBA, suggesting FBA as a potential protein target for insecticide development. Further studies such as Western blot and transcriptomic analyses are warranted to validate the findings.
已知 sp. KSF103 乙酸乙酯（EA）提取物对蚊子具有杀虫活性；然而，其活性背后的机制仍难以捉摸。在这项研究中，采用液相色谱-串联质谱（LC-MS/MS）技术研究了致死浓度 50（LC）EA 提取物处理的 幼虫和成虫的蛋白质图谱变化。通过比较处理和未处理的蚊子，本研究旨在鉴定表现出变化的蛋白质或途径，这些变化可能成为未来杀虫剂开发的靶点。用致死浓度的 EA 提取物处理后，幼虫中上调了 15 种蛋白质，而在成虫中，上调了 16 种蛋白质，下调了两种蛋白质。这些蛋白质与代谢、蛋白质调节/降解、能量产生、细胞组织和结构、酶活性和催化以及钙离子转运和动态平衡有关。值得注意的是，ATP 合酶、果糖二磷酸醛缩酶（FBA）和 ATP 柠檬酸合酶在两组中均有显著表达。基因本体分析表明，研究重点是能量代谢过程。分子对接显示 dodemorph、selagine（来自 EA 提取物的化合物）与 FBA 之间存在强烈相互作用，表明 FBA 可能是杀虫剂开发的潜在蛋白质靶点。需要进一步的研究，如 Western blot 和转录组分析，以验证这些发现。
