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Possible immune functions of two mosquito multicopper oxidases
Author(s) -
Lang Minglin,
Gorman Maureen J,
Gardner Stewart G,
Yungeberg Sandi L,
Kanost Michael R
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.854.4
Subject(s) - biology , malaria , anopheles gambiae , anopheles , plasmodium (life cycle) , immune system , innate immune system , function (biology) , rna interference , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , parasite hosting , immunology , genetics , computer science , rna , world wide web
The multicopper oxidase (MCO) family of enzymes has been implicated in a diverse set of physiological processes; however, little is known about their function in insects, including the malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae. Our goal is to characterize the function of two Anopheles MCOs: MCO1 and MCO3. We found that these two genes are upregulated in the midguts and Malpighian tubules of mosquitoes following a blood meal and in other tissues in response to infection with bacteria or malaria parasites. These results suggest that MCO1 and MCO3 may function in defense against pathogens. Preliminary data suggest that double silencing of MCO1 and MCO3 increases the susceptibility of mosquitoes to malaria infection. Overexpression of MCO1 or MCO3 in Drosophila increases their sensitivity to paraquat exposure, suggesting that MCO activity may lead to ROS production. If this is true, the MCOs may participate in an ROS killing mechanism against the parasites. Alternatively, the MCOs may restrict pathogen growth by acting as ferroxidases that reduce the amount of available iron. Finally, MCO1 and/or MCO3 may be required for protein crosslinking in the peritrophic matrix, which acts as a natural barrier against parasite invasion of the gut. We will present the results of experiments designed to test these three hypotheses. The work was supported by NIH Grants R03AI057816 and R01AI070864.