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Anopheles gambiae miRNAs as actors of defence reaction against Plasmodium invasion.

ABSTRACT: The path Plasmodium takes across the Anopheles midgut constitutes the major bottleneck during the malaria transmission cycle. In the present study, using a combination of shot-gun cloning and bioinformatic analysis, we have identified 18 miRNAs from Anopheles gambiae including three miRNAs unique to mosquito. Twelve of them are expressed ubiquitously across the body, independently of gender, while the other six exhibited an expression pattern restricted to the digestive system. Strikingly, the expression patterns of four miRNAs, including the three unique to mosquito, are affected by the presence of Plasmodium. We also show that knocking down Dicer1 and Ago1 mRNAs led to an increased sensitivity to Plasmodium infection. Altogether, these data support an involvement of miRNAs as new layers in the regulation of Anopheles defence reaction.

SUBMITTER: Winter F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2175301 | biostudies-literature | 2007

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Anopheles gambiae miRNAs as actors of defence reaction against Plasmodium invasion.

Winter Flore F Edaye Sonia S Hüttenhofer Alexander A Brunel Christine C

Nucleic acids research 20071012 20

The path Plasmodium takes across the Anopheles midgut constitutes the major bottleneck during the malaria transmission cycle. In the present study, using a combination of shot-gun cloning and bioinformatic analysis, we have identified 18 miRNAs from Anopheles gambiae including three miRNAs unique to mosquito. Twelve of them are expressed ubiquitously across the body, independently of gender, while the other six exhibited an expression pattern restricted to the digestive system. Strikingly, the e ...[more]

PMID: 17933784

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Project description:The mosquito Anopheles gambiae uses its innate immune system to control bacterial and Plasmodium infection of its midgut tissue. The activation of potent IMD pathway-mediated anti-Plasmodium falciparum defenses is dependent on the presence of the midgut microbiota, which activate this defense system upon parasite infection through a peptidoglycan recognition protein, PGRPLC. We employed transcriptomic and reverse genetic analyses to compare the P. falciparum infection-responsive transcriptomes of septic and aseptic mosquitoes and to determine whether bacteria-independent anti-Plasmodium defenses exist. To examine the impact of P. falciparum infection on the mosquito midgut and carcass transcriptomes in the presence or absence of midgut bacteria, we used A. gambiae whole genome microarrays to compare the mRNA abundance of P. falciparum-infected and -naïve mosquitoes of antibiotic- and non-antibiotic treated cohorts. P. falciparum infection induced changes in the abundance of as many as 2,183 and 2,429 transcripts in whole mosquitoes belonging to a variety of functional groups in aseptic and septic mosquitoes. Ultimately, we were interested in identifying the genes involved in bacteria-independent anti-Plasmodium responses, and therefore we focused on transcripts displaying increased abundance in the parasite-infected aseptic midguts, placing a particular emphasis on those with predicted immune functions. Because of the central role of serine protease cascades in regulating insect immune defenses, we focused the remainder of our analysis on a clip-domain serine protease C2 (CLIPC2, AGAP004317) and a serine protease inhibitor 7 (SRPN7, AGAP007693) that were specifically upregulated in the parasite-infected, aseptic mosquito midgut. We showed that SRPN7 negatively and CLIPC2 positively regulate the anti-Plasmodium defense, independently of the midgut-associated bacteria. Co-silencing assays suggested that these two genes may function together in a signaling cascade. Neither gene was regulated, nor modulated, by infection with the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei, suggesting that SRPN7 and CLIPC2 are components of a defense system with preferential activity towards P. falciparum. Further analysis using RNA interference determined that these genes do not regulate the anti-Plasmodium defense mediated by the IMD pathway, and both factors act as agonists of the endogenous midgut microbiota, further demonstrating the lack of functional relatedness between these genes and the bacteria-dependent activation of the IMD pathway. This is the first study confirming the existence of a bacteria-independent, anti-P. falciparum defense.

Project description:The mosquito Anopheles gambiae uses its innate immune system to control bacterial and Plasmodium infection of its midgut tissue. The activation of potent IMD pathway-mediated anti-Plasmodium falciparum defenses is dependent on the presence of the midgut microbiota, which activate this defense system upon parasite infection through a peptidoglycan recognition protein, PGRPLC. We employed transcriptomic and reverse genetic analyses to compare the P. falciparum infection-responsive transcriptomes of septic and aseptic mosquitoes and to determine whether bacteria-independent anti-Plasmodium defenses exist. Antibiotic treated aseptic mosquitoes mounted molecular immune responses representing a variety of immune functions upon P. falciparum infection. Among other immune factors, our analysis uncovered a serine protease inhibitor (SRPN7) and Clip-domain serine protease (CLIPC2) that were transcriptionally induced in the midgut upon P. falciparum infection, independent of bacteria. We also showed that SRPN7 negatively and CLIPC2 positively regulate the anti-Plasmodium defense, independently of the midgut-associated bacteria. Co-silencing assays suggested that these two genes may function together in a signaling cascade. Neither gene was regulated, nor modulated, by infection with the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei, suggesting that SRPN7 and CLIPC2 are components of a defense system with preferential activity towards P. falciparum. Further analysis using RNA interference determined that these genes do not regulate the anti-Plasmodium defense mediated by the IMD pathway, and both factors act as agonists of the endogenous midgut microbiota, further demonstrating the lack of functional relatedness between these genes and the bacteria-dependent activation of the IMD pathway. This is the first study confirming the existence of a bacteria-independent, anti-P. falciparum defense. Further exploration of this anti-Plasmodium defense will help clarify determinants of immune specificity in the mosquito, and expose potential gene and/or protein targets for malaria intervention strategies based on targeting the parasite in the mosquito vector.

Project description:BackgroundPlasmodium infection increases the oxidative stress inside the mosquito, leading to a significant alteration on transcription of Anopheles gambiae detoxification genes. Among these detoxification genes several P450 cytochromes and tubulins were differently expressed, suggesting their involvement in the mosquito's response to parasite invasion. P450 cytochromes are usually involved in the metabolism and detoxification of several compounds, but are also regulated by several pathogens, including malaria parasite. Tubulins are extremely important as components of the cytoskeleton, which rearrangement functions as a response to malaria parasite invasion.Methodology/principal findingsGene silencing methods were used to uncover the effects of cytochrome P450 reductase, tubulinA and tubulinB silencing on the A. gambiae response to Plasmodium berghei invasion. The role of tubulins in counter infection processes was also investigated by inhibiting their effect. Colchicine, vinblastine and paclitaxel, three different tubulin inhibitors were injected into A. gambiae mosquitoes. Twenty-four hours post injection these mosquitoes were infected with P. berghei through a blood meal from infected CD1 mice. Cytochrome P450 gene expression was measured using RT-qPCR to detect differences in cytochrome expression between silenced, inhibited and control mosquitoes. Results showed that cytochrome P450 reductase silencing, as well as tubulin (A and B) silencing and inhibition affected the efficiency of Plasmodium infection. Silencing and inhibition also affected the expression levels of cytochromes P450.ConclusionsOur results suggest the existence of a relationship between tubulins and P450 cytochromes during A. gambiae immune response to P. berghei invasion. One of the P450 cytochromes in this study, CYP6Z2, stands out as the potential link in this association. Further work is needed to fully understand the role of tubulin genes in the response to Plasmodium infection.

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Anopheles gambiae miRNAs as actors of defence reaction against Plasmodium invasion.

Publications

Anopheles gambiae miRNAs as actors of defence reaction against Plasmodium invasion.

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