Meraj Sanam, Phung Phillip, Lau Kelvin, Lowenberger Carl, Gries Gerhard
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada.
Cells. 2024 Dec 11;13(24):2042. doi: 10.3390/cells13242042.
The hemoflagellate parasite is transmitted by triatomine kissing bugs and may co-infect humans together with its Chagas disease-causing congener . Using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and antimicrobial assays, we studied () the temporal and spatial distribution of in common bed bugs, , following oral ingestion and hemocoelic injection of and () the immune responses of bed bugs induced by infections. Irrespective of infection mode, no live were present in the bed bugs' hemolymph, salivary glands, or feces. On day 1 following infection, the bed bugs strongly upregulated the antimicrobial peptide CL-defensin. Following hemocoelic injection of , live parasites were absent in any bed bug tissues examined throughout the 10-day study period. The ingestion of -infected blood had no significant effect on bed bug survival. Our findings indicate that bed bugs disable the development of within their body, in stark contrast to triatomine kissing bugs, which allow the development and transmission of . Our findings help unravel the intricate relationships between bed bugs and trypanosomes, and they contribute to our understanding of vector biology.
血鞭毛虫寄生虫通过锥蝽传播，可能与其引起恰加斯病的同类寄生虫共同感染人类。我们使用实时定量聚合酶链反应（RT-qPCR）和抗菌测定法，研究了：（1）在经口摄入和血腔注射 后，常见臭虫体内 的时空分布；（2）臭虫感染 后诱导的免疫反应。无论感染方式如何，臭虫的血淋巴、唾液腺或粪便中均未发现活的 。感染后第1天，臭虫强烈上调抗菌肽CL-防御素。在血腔注射 后，在整个10天的研究期间，在所检查的任何臭虫组织中均未发现活的寄生虫。摄入感染 的血液对臭虫存活没有显著影响。我们的研究结果表明，臭虫能够阻止 在其体内发育，这与允许 发育和传播的锥蝽形成鲜明对比。我们的研究结果有助于揭示臭虫与锥虫之间的复杂关系，并有助于我们理解病媒生物学。
