An Inhibitor of the Alternative Pathway of Complement in Saliva of New World Anopheline Mosquitoes.

ABSTRACT: The complement system present in circulating blood is an effective mechanism of host defense, responsible for the killing of pathogens and the production of potent anaphylatoxins. Inhibitors of the complement system have been described in the saliva of hematophagous arthropods that are involved in the protection of digestive tissues against complement system-mediated damage. In this study, we describe albicin, a novel inhibitor of the alternative pathway of complement from the salivary glands of the malaria vector, Anopheles albimanus The inhibitor was purified from salivary gland homogenates by reverse-phase HPLC and identified by mass spectrometry as a small (13.4-kDa) protein related to the gSG7 protein of Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles stephensi Recombinant albicin was produced in Esc

SUBMITTER: Mendes-Sousa AF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4989506 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature