Autor(es): Brackney, D. E.; Foy, B. D.; Olson, K. E.

Resumo: Dengue viruses (DENV) cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide and are transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti. Mosquitoes become infected alter ingesting a viremic bloodmeal, and molecular mechanisms involved in bloodmeal digestion may affect the ability of DENV to infect the midgut We used RNA interference (RNAi) to silence expression of four midgut serine proteases and assessed the effect of each RNAi phenotype on DENV-2 infectivity of Aedes aegypti. Silencing resulted in significant reductions in protease mRN A levels and correlated with a reduction in activity except in the case of late trypsin. RNA silencing of chymotrypsin, early and late trypsin had no effect on DENV-2 infectivity. However, silencing of 5G1 or the addition of soybean trypsin inhibitor to the infectious bloodmeals significantly increased midgut infection rates. These results suggest that some midgut serine proteases may actually limit DENV-2 infectivity of Ae. aegypti.

Palavras-Chave: Viruses; Pest control; Hygiene; Phenotypes; Serine; Public health; Mortality; Molecular modelling; Serine proteinase; Trypsin; Chymotrypsin; Infection; Morbidity; Disease transmission; Soybeans; Infectivity; Dengue; RNA-mediated interference; Midgut; Aedes aegypti; Dengue virus type 2

Imprenta: American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, v. 79, n. 2, p. 267-274, 2008.

Descritores: Aedes aegypti - RNA ; Aedes aegypti - Infectious diseases ; Aedes aegypti - Virus ; Aedes aegypti - Transmission ; Aedes aegypti - Dengue ; Aedes aegypti - Public health

Data de publicação: 2008