Adipokinetic hormone signaling in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae facilitates Plasmodium falciparum sporogony.

ABSTRACT: An obligatory step in the complex life cycle of the malaria parasite is sporogony, which occurs during the oocyst stage in adult female Anopheles mosquitoes. Sporogony is metabolically demanding, and successful oocyst maturation is dependent on host lipids. In insects, lipid energy reserves are mobilized by adipokinetic hormones (AKHs). We hypothesized that Plasmodium falciparum infection activates Anopheles gambiae AKH signaling and lipid mobilization. We profiled the expression patterns of AKH pathway genes and AgAkh1 peptide levels in An. gambiae during starvation, after blood feeding, and following infection and observed a significant time-dependent up-regulation of AKH pathway genes and peptide levels during infection. Depletion of AgAkh1 and AgAkhR by RNAi reduced salivary gland spor

SUBMITTER: Nyasembe VO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9924834 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature