Investigation of the Cry4B-prohibitin interaction in Aedes aegypti cells
Autor(es): Kuadkitkan, Atichat; Smith, Duncan R.; Berry, Colin
Resumo: Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) produces insecticidal toxins active against insects. Cry4B, one of the major insecticidal toxins produced by Bt subsp. israelensis, is highly toxic to mosquitoes in the genus Aedes: the major vectors of dengue, yellow fever, and chikungunya. Previous work has shown that Cry4B binds to several mid-gut membrane proteins in Aedes aegypti larvae including prohibitin, a protein recently identified as a receptor that also mediates entry of dengue virus into Aedes cells. This study confirms the interaction between Cry4B and prohibitin by co-immunoprecipitation analysis and demonstrates colocalization of prohibitin and Cry4B by confocal microscopy. While activated Cry4B toxin showed high larvicidal activity, it was not cytotoxic to two Aedes cell lines, allowing determination of its effect on dengue virus infectivity in the absence of Cry4B-induced cell lysis. Pre-exposure of Aedes cells to Cry4B resulted in a significant reduction in the number of infected cells compared to untreated cells.
Palavras-Chave: Biological control; Toxicants; Pesticides; Public health; Prohibitin; Cytotoxicity; Infectivity; Dengue; Yellow fever; Confocal microscopy; Vectors; Membrane proteins; Toxins; Dengue virus; Aedes aegypti; Bacillus thuringiensis
Imprenta: Current Microbiology, v. 65, n. 4, p. 446-454, 2012.
Descritores: Aedes aegypti - Cell ; Aedes aegypti - Proteins ; Aedes aegypti - Virus ; Aedes aegypti - Chikungunya Fever ; Aedes aegypti - Dengue ; Aedes aegypti - Public health
Data de publicação: 2012
