Anti-bacterial proteins in mosquitoes are known to play an important modulatory role on immune responses to infections with human pathogens including malaria parasites. In this study we characterized two members of the Anopheles gambiae Nimrod superfamily, namely AgNimB2 and AgEater. We confirm that current annotation of the An. gambiae genome incorrectly identifies AgNimB2 and AgEater as a single gene, AGAP009762. Through in silico and experimental approaches, it has been shown that AgNimB2 is a secreted protein that mediates phagocytosis of Staphylococcus aureus but not of Escherichia coli bacteria. We also reveal that this function does not involve a direct interaction of AgNimB2 with S. aureus. Therefore, AgNimB2 may act downstream of complement-like pathway activation, first requiring bacterial opsonization. In addition, it has been shown that AgNimB2 has an anti-Plasmodium effect. Conversely, AgEater is a membrane-bound protein that either functions redundantly or is dispensable for phagocytosis of E. coli or S. aureus. Our study provides insights into the role of members of the complex Nimrod superfamily in An. gambiae, the most important African vector of human malaria.

Discovery and characterization of two Nimrod superfamily members in Anopheles gambiae / Janet, Midega; Joshua, Blight; Lombardo, Fabrizio; Michael, Povelones; Fotis, Kafatos; George K., Christophides. - In: PATHOGENS AND GLOBAL HEALTH. - ISSN 2047-7724. - 107:8(2013), pp. 463-474. [10.1179/204777213x13867543472674]

Discovery and characterization of two Nimrod superfamily members in Anopheles gambiae

LOMBARDO, Fabrizio;
2013

Abstract

Anti-bacterial proteins in mosquitoes are known to play an important modulatory role on immune responses to infections with human pathogens including malaria parasites. In this study we characterized two members of the Anopheles gambiae Nimrod superfamily, namely AgNimB2 and AgEater. We confirm that current annotation of the An. gambiae genome incorrectly identifies AgNimB2 and AgEater as a single gene, AGAP009762. Through in silico and experimental approaches, it has been shown that AgNimB2 is a secreted protein that mediates phagocytosis of Staphylococcus aureus but not of Escherichia coli bacteria. We also reveal that this function does not involve a direct interaction of AgNimB2 with S. aureus. Therefore, AgNimB2 may act downstream of complement-like pathway activation, first requiring bacterial opsonization. In addition, it has been shown that AgNimB2 has an anti-Plasmodium effect. Conversely, AgEater is a membrane-bound protein that either functions redundantly or is dispensable for phagocytosis of E. coli or S. aureus. Our study provides insights into the role of members of the complex Nimrod superfamily in An. gambiae, the most important African vector of human malaria.
2013
anopheles gambiae; nimrod superfamily; innate immunity; nim repeats; egf-like repeats; phagocytosis; microbiota
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Discovery and characterization of two Nimrod superfamily members in Anopheles gambiae / Janet, Midega; Joshua, Blight; Lombardo, Fabrizio; Michael, Povelones; Fotis, Kafatos; George K., Christophides. - In: PATHOGENS AND GLOBAL HEALTH. - ISSN 2047-7724. - 107:8(2013), pp. 463-474. [10.1179/204777213x13867543472674]
File allegati a questo prodotto
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/561063
 Attenzione

Attenzione! I dati visualizzati non sono stati sottoposti a validazione da parte dell'ateneo

Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 6
  • Scopus 11
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 11
social impact