Abstract
BackgroundAedes aegypti is the main vector of important arboviruses such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya. During infections mosquitoes can activate the immune pathways Toll, IMD and JAK/STAT to limit pathogen replication.ResultsHere, we evaluate the immune response profile of Ae. aegypti against Sindbis virus (SINV). We analyzed gene expression of components of Toll, IMD and JAK/STAT pathways and showed that a blood meal and virus infection upregulated aaREL2 in a microbiota-dependent fashion, since this induction was prevented by antibiotic. The presence of the microbiota activates IMD and impaired the replication of SINV in the midgut. Constitutive activation of the IMD pathway, by Caspar depletion, leads to a decrease in microbiota levels and an increase in SINV loads.ConclusionTogether, these results suggest that a blood meal is able to activate innate immune pathways, through a nutrient induced growth of microbiota, leading to upregulation of aaREL2 and IMD activation. Microbiota levels seemed to have a reciprocal interaction, where the proliferation of the microbiota activates IMD pathway that in turn controls bacterial levels, allowing SINV replication in Ae. aegypti mosquitoes. The activation of the IMD pathway seems to have an indirect effect in SINV levels that is induced by the microbiota.
Highlights
Aedes aegypti is the main vector of important arboviruses such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya
The Immune Deficiency (IMD) pathway is transcriptionally activated after a blood meal To investigate the possible role of blood-feeding on innate immune activation, we analyzed mRNA expression of key genes from the three major immune pathways after blood intake in whole body samples
Expression profile of the whole body suggested an activation of IMD pathway following a blood meal, we further investigated the expression profile of isolated mosquito tissues to have a clear picture of the immunological changes following blood ingestion
Summary
Aedes aegypti is the main vector of important arboviruses such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya. The mosquito Aedes aegypti is the vector of important arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses), such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus. Since there is no available vaccine or medicine to effectively treat sick individuals, anti-arboviral strategies rely heavily on vector control, mainly through the use of insecticides. This approach is losing efficacy because of the rapid development of resistance by this vector [3]. This scenario reinforces the need to understand the biology of vector/pathogen interaction aiming to develop vector control strategies
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