Mosquito Immune Mediation

摘要

Mosquitoes are vectors of numerous human and animal diseases, including malaria. Approaches that enhance or otherwise alter the natural defense mechanisms of mosquitoes could help to reduce or eliminate their competence as vectors of disease. Proteins containing leucine-rich repeats (LRIM1 and APL1C) are known to mediate immune responses in the mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, against the malaria parasite, Plasmodium berghei. Povelones et al. (p. 258, published online 5 March) used gene silencing to show that these proteins produce an immune cascade together with a complement-like protein, binding to the surface of the parasite targeting it for destruction. LRIM1 and APL1C are members of an extensive family of secreted leucine-rich repeat containing proteins that are unique to mosquitoes.