A serine protease homolog negatively regulates TEP1 consumption in systemic infections of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae.

ABSTRACT: Clip domain serine protease homologs are widely distributed in insect genomes and play important roles in regulating insect immune responses, yet their exact functions remain poorly understood. Here, we show that CLIPA2, a clip domain serine protease homolog of Anopheles gambiae, regulates the consumption of the mosquito complement-like protein TEP1 during systemic bacterial infections. We provide evidence that CLIPA2 localizes to microbial surfaces in a TEP1-dependent manner whereby it negatively regulates the activity of a putative TEP1 convertase, which converts the full-length TEP1-F form into active TEP1cut. CLIPA2 silencing triggers an exacerbated TEP1-mediated response that significantly enhances mosquito resistance to infections with a broad class of microorganisms including Plasmo

SUBMITTER: Yassine H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4813755 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature