Late sporogonic stages of Plasmodium parasites are susceptible to the melanization response in Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes.

ABSTRACT: The malaria-causing parasites have to complete a complex infection cycle in the mosquito vector that also involves attack by the insect's innate immune system, especially at the early stages of midgut infection. However, Anopheles immunity to the late Plasmodium sporogonic stages, such as oocysts, has received little attention as they are considered to be concealed from immune factors due to their location under the midgut basal lamina and for harboring an elaborate cell wall comprising an external layer derived from the basal lamina that confers self-properties to an otherwise foreign structure. Here, we investigated whether Plasmodium berghei oocysts and sporozoites are susceptible to melanization-based immunity in Anopheles gambiae. Silencing of the negative

SUBMITTER: Zeineddine S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11324593 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature