Abstract
Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) represent an emerging threat to human and livestock health globally. In particular, those transmitted by mosquitoes present the greatest challenges to disease control efforts. An understanding of the molecular basis for mosquito innate immunity to arbovirus infection is therefore critical to investigations regarding arbovirus evolution, virus-vector ecology, and mosquito vector competence. In this review, we discuss the current state of understanding regarding mosquito innate immunity to West Nile virus. We draw from the literature with respect to other virus-vector pairings to attempt to draw inferences to gaps in our knowledge about West Nile virus and relevant vectors.
Highlights
Arthropod-borne viruses perpetuate in nature in transmission cycles involving both vertebrate animals, including human beings, and hematophagous arthropods, mainly mosquitoes and ticks
When Janus kinase (Jak)/STAT deficient flies were challenged with five other evolutionarily divergent viruses, including SINV, Drosophila X virus (DXV) and FHV, the authors found no effect on the survivorship of the flies. These results indicate that Jak/STAT involvement in antiviral immunity may be specific to each virus–insect pairing and not broadly applicable to all systems
It was later demonstrated that pre-formed pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) in the context of UV-inactivated virus appear to interact with Toll-7 at the plasma membrane which leads to the activation of autophagy independently of the canonical Toll pathway [124]
Summary
Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) perpetuate in nature in transmission cycles involving both vertebrate animals, including human beings, and hematophagous arthropods, mainly mosquitoes and ticks. Basic studies of the molecular mechanisms that underpin the host-virus interaction in WNV have proceeded vigorously in recent years. These studies, which aim to identify and characterize mechanisms that influence the dynamics of virus infection and contribute to clinical outcomes, have led to a greatly enhanced understanding of how hosts and viruses interact. This tendency reflects a critical shortcoming in the current state of the field: Very little work on the molecular mechanisms that influence virus infection in mosquitoes has been performed using appropriate virus–vector pairs. We conclude with remarks intended to summarize the state of knowledge and identify key areas for future research
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