Gene silencing in phlebotomine sand flies: Xanthine dehydrogenase knock down by dsRNA microinjections.

ABSTRACT: Lutzomyia longipalpis are vectors of medically important visceral leishmaniasis in South America. Blood-fed adult females digest large amounts of protein, and xanthine dehydrogenase is thought to be a key enzyme involved in protein catabolism through the production of urate. Large amounts of heme are also released during digestion with potentially damaging consequences, as heme can generate oxygen radicals that damage lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. However, urate is an antioxidant that may prevent such oxidative damage produced by heme. We investigated xanthine dehydrogenase by developing the RNAi technique for sand flies and used this technique to knock down the Lu. longipalpis xanthine dehydrogenase gene to evaluate its role in survival of adult females after blood feeding. The gene

SUBMITTER: Sant'Anna MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2677462 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature