Comprehensive proteolytic profiling of Aedes aegypti mosquito midgut extracts: Unraveling the blood meal protein digestion system.

ABSTRACT: To sustain the gonotrophic cycle, the Aedes aegypti mosquito must acquire a blood meal from a human or other vertebrate host. However, in the process of blood feeding, the mosquito may facilitate the transmission of several bloodborne viral pathogens (e.g., dengue, Zika, and chikungunya). The blood meal is essential as it contains proteins that are digested into polypeptides and amino acid nutrients that are eventually used for egg production. These proteins are digested by several midgut proteolytic enzymes. As such, the female mosquito's reliance on blood may serve as a potential target for vector and viral transmission control. However, this strategy may prove to be challenging since midgut proteolytic activity is a complex process dependent on several exo- and endo-proteases. Therefore

SUBMITTER: O'Donoghue AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11838913 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature