title: An in vivo transfection approach elucidates a role for Aedes aegypti thioester-containing proteins in flaviviral infection.
abstract: Mosquitoes transmit pathogens that cause infectious diseases of global importance. Techniques to easily introduce genes into mosquitoes, however, limit investigations of the interaction between microbes and their arthropod vectors. We now show that a cationic liposome significantly enhances delivery and expression of plasmid DNA in Aedes aegypti and Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes. We then introduced the genes for Ae. aegypti thioester-containing proteins (AeTEPs), which are involved in the control of flaviviral infection, into mosquitoes using this technique. In vivo transfection of AeTEP-1 into Ae. aegypti significantly reduced dengue virus infection, suggesting that the approach can further our understanding of pathogen-mosquito interactions.
authors.affiliation: Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
authors.forename: Gong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Penghua
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yang O
authors.initials: YO
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Tonya M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Colpitts
authors.forename: Fabiana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Feitosa
authors.forename: John F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Erol
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fikrig
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology*; D000818:Animals; D003715:Dengue / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology*; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000502:physiology*; D004952:Esters / Q000378:metabolism; D020868:Gene Silencing; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D010957:Plasmids / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014162:Transfection / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004952:Esters; D019476:Insect Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins