title: Immune signaling pathways regulating bacterial and malaria parasite infection of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae.
abstract: We show that, in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae, expression of Cecropin 1 is regulated by REL2, an NF-kappaB-like transcription factor orthologous to Drosophila Relish. Through alternative splicing, REL2 produces a full-length (REL2-F) and a shorter (REL2-S) protein isoform lacking the inhibitory ankyrin repeats and death domain. RNA interference experiments show that, in contrast to Drosophila Relish, which responds solely to Gram-negative bacteria, the Anopheles REL2-F and REL2-S isoforms are involved in defense against the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and the Gram-negative Escherichia coli bacteria, respectively. REL2-F also regulates the intensity of mosquito infection with the malaria parasite, Plasmodium berghei. The adaptor IMD shares the same activities as REL2-F. Microarray analysis identified 10 additional genes regulated by REL2, including CEC3, GAM1, and LRIM1.
authors.affiliation: European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Meister
authors.forename: Stefan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kanzok
authors.forename: Xue-Li
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Coralia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Luna
authors.forename: Tong-Ruei
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ngo T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Hoa
authors.forename: John Randall
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Clayton
authors.forename: Kevin P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Fotis C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Kafatos
authors.forename: George K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Christophides
authors.forename: Liangbiao
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000276:immunology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000276:immunology*; D040481:Genome Components; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D008156:Luciferases; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D010962:Plasmodium berghei / Q000276:immunology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000276:immunology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000276:immunology; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D008156:Luciferases