The expanded immunoregulatory protease network in mosquitoes is governed by gene coexpression.

ABSTRACT: Serine protease cascades regulate key innate immune responses. Their activation cleaves a series of inactive protease zymogens, which then activate downstream effector enzymes, ensuring a rapid response. In mosquitoes, these cascades involve clip-domain serine proteases and their noncatalytic homologs (CLIPs), whose make-up and structural organization are not fully understood. Here, we systematically assessed the contribution of individual CLIPs to humoral immunity in Anopheles gambiae, by performing gene knockdown of 85 of the 110 CLIPs in adult females and assessing their individual contribution to humoral immunity regulation. By coupling RNAi with assays measuring antimicrobial activity and melanization, we identified 27 immunoregulatory CLIPs. Only one CLIP contributed to both i

SUBMITTER: Morejon B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12067252 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature