Wolbachia do not induce reactive oxygen species-dependent immune pathway activation in Aedes albopictus

Molloy, J. c. and Sinkins, S. P. (2015) Wolbachia do not induce reactive oxygen species-dependent immune pathway activation in Aedes albopictus. Viruses, 7(8), pp. 4624-4639. (doi: 10.3390/v7082836) (PMID:26287231) (PMCID:PMC4576197)

Abstract

Aedes albopictus is a major vector of dengue (DENV) and chikungunya (CHIKV) viruses, causing millions of infections annually. It naturally carries, at high frequency, the intracellular inherited bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia strains wAlbA and wAlbB; transinfection with the higher-density Wolbachia strain wMel from Drosophila melanogaster led to transmission blocking of both arboviruses. The hypothesis that reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced immune activation plays a role in arbovirus inhibition in this species was examined. In contrast to previous observations in Ae. aegypti, elevation of ROS levels was not observed in either cell lines or mosquito lines carrying the wild-type Wolbachia or higher-density Drosophila Wolbachia strains. There was also no upregulation of genes controlling innate immune pathways or with antioxidant/ROS-producing functions. These data suggest that ROS-mediated immune activation is not an important component of the viral transmission-blocking phenotype in this species.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The study was supported by Wellcome Trust award BWT095121 and BBSRC award BB/H016511/1.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Sinkins, Professor Steven
• Authors: Molloy, J. c., and Sinkins, S. P.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity > Centre for Virus Research
• Journal Name: Viruses
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 1999-4915
• ISSN (Online): 1999-4915
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2015 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Viruses 7(8):4624-4639
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a creative commons license