ArticlePLoS pathogens2006
Fz2 and cdc42 mediate melanization and actin polymerization but are dispensable for Plasmodium killing in the mosquito midgut.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Genetic Basis of Color Polymorphism in the Orb-Web SpiderEcology and evolution · 2026Article
- Towards an evolutionary baseline model ofbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Targeting the mosquito prefoldin-chaperonin complex blocks Plasmodium transmission.Nature microbiology · 2025Article
- Immune Reactions of Vector Insects to Parasites and Pathogens.Microorganisms · 2024Review
- Article
- Bio-products fromFrontiers in tropical diseases · 2022Article
- Genetic changes ofCurrent research in immunology · 2021Article
- Frizzled 2 Functions in the Regulation of TOR-Mediated Embryonic Development and Fecundity inFrontiers in physiology · 2020Article
- Solution structure, glycan specificity and of phenol oxidase inhibitory activity of Anopheles C-type lectins CTL4 and CTLMA2.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Arthropod Innate Immune Systems and Vector-Borne Diseases.Biochemistry · 2017Review
- Evolution and Function of Thioester-Containing Proteins and the Complement System in the Innate Immune Response.Frontiers in immunology · 2017Review
- Transgenic Expression of the Anti-parasitic Factor TEP1 in the Malaria Mosquito Anopheles gambiae.PLoS pathogens · 2017Article
- A dark cuticle allows higher investment in immunity, longevity and fecundity in a beetle upon a simulated parasite attack.Oecologia · 2016Article
- Novel factors of Anopheles gambiae haemocyte immune response to Plasmodium berghei infection.Parasites & vectors · 2016Article
- Hemocyte differentiation mediates the mosquito late-phase immune response against Plasmodium in Anopheles gambiae.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2015Article
- The cell biology of malaria infection of mosquito: advances and opportunities.Cellular microbiology · 2015Review
- Cytoplasmic actin is an extracellular insect immune factor which is secreted upon immune challenge and mediates phagocytosis and direct killing of bacteria, and is a Plasmodium Antagonist.PLoS pathogens · 2015Article
- A New Role of the Mosquito Complement-like Cascade in Male Fertility in Anopheles gambiae.PLoS biology · 2015Article
- The Plasmodium bottleneck: malaria parasite losses in the mosquito vector.Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz · 2014Article
- The Anopheles innate immune system in the defense against malaria infection.Journal of innate immunity · 2014Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The midgut epithelium of the mosquito malaria vector Anopheles is a hostile environment for Plasmodium, with most parasites succumbing to host defenses. This study addresses morphological and ultrastructural features associated with Plasmodium berghei ookinete invasion in Anopheles gambiae midguts to define the sites and possible mechanisms of parasite killing. We show by transmission electron microscopy and immunofluorescence that the majority of ookinetes are killed in the extracellular space. Dead or dying ookinetes are surrounded by a polymerized actin zone formed within the basal cytoplasm of adjacent host epithelial cells. In refractory strain mosquitoes, we found that formation of this zone is strongly linked to prophenoloxidase activation leading to melanization. Furthermore, we identify two factors controlling both phenomena: the transmembrane receptor frizzled-2 and the guanosine triphosphate-binding protein cell division cycle 42. However, the disruption of actin polymerization and melanization by double-stranded RNA inhibition did not affect ookinete survival. Our results separate the mechanisms of parasite killing from subsequent reactions manifested by actin polymerization and prophenoloxidase activation in the A. gambiae-P. berghei model. These latter processes are reminiscent of wound healing in other organisms, and we propose that they represent a form of wound-healing response directed towards a moribund ookinete, which is perceived as damaged tissue.
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