Abstract
Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) circulate in nature between arthropod vectors and vertebrate hosts. Arboviruses often cause devastating diseases in vertebrate hosts, but they typically do not cause significant pathology in their arthropod vectors. Following oral acquisition of a viremic bloodmeal from a vertebrate host, the arbovirus disease cycle requires replication in the cellular environment of the arthropod vector. Once the vector has become systemically and persistently infected, the vector is able to transmit the virus to an uninfected vertebrate host. In order to systemically infect the vector, the virus must cope with innate immune responses and overcome several tissue barriers associated with the midgut and the salivary glands. In this review we describe, in detail, the typical arbovirus infection route in competent mosquito vectors. Based on what is known from the literature, we explain the nature of the tissue barriers that arboviruses are confronted with in a mosquito vector and how arboviruses might surmount these barriers. We also point out controversial findings to highlight particular areas that are not well understood and require further research efforts.
Highlights
Most arbovirus vectors are hematophagous insects belonging to the order Diptera, such as mosquitoes, sandflies, black flies, and biting midges [1]
The role of cardia/intussuscepted foregut infection in facilitating efficient dissemination of arboviruses from the mosquito gut to the salivary glands remains unclear at this point, but it may serve as a conduit for midgut escape in certain arbovirus-mosquito combinations
The findings discussed in this review show that arboviruses are confronted with several tissue barriers during establishment of persistent infection of a mosquito vector
Summary
Most arbovirus vectors are hematophagous insects belonging to the order Diptera, such as mosquitoes, sandflies, black flies, and biting midges [1]. The majority of medically-important arboviruses causing severe morbidity and mortality in humans around the world belong to the families Flaviviridae, Togaviridae, and Bunyaviridae and are transmitted by mosquitoes [2]. There is a need to increase the “tool box” for arbovirus control by supplementing existing control strategies with promising novel strategies that focus on interrupting the viral disease cycle in the vector These novel arbovirus control strategies include genetic pest management techniques in which molecular genetic tools are employed to either reduce mosquito populations in target areas or to modulate their vector competence for arboviruses (population replacement) [12,13,14]. We discuss to what extent apoptosis might be part of the mechanisms arboviruses employ to overcome tissue barriers in their mosquito vectors. Vector immune responses against arboviruses, which play an important role in determining vector competence, are discussed by Sim et al in another article in this Special Issue
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