title: Discovery and characterization of two Nimrod superfamily members in Anopheles gambiae.
abstract: Anti-bacterial proteins in mosquitoes are known to play an important modulatory role on immune responses to infections with human pathogens including malaria parasites. In this study we characterized two members of the Anopheles gambiae Nimrod superfamily, namely AgNimB2 and AgEater. We confirm that current annotation of the An. gambiae genome incorrectly identifies AgNimB2 and AgEater as a single gene, AGAP009762. Through in silico and experimental approaches, it has been shown that AgNimB2 is a secreted protein that mediates phagocytosis of Staphylococcus aureus but not of Escherichia coli bacteria. We also reveal that this function does not involve a direct interaction of AgNimB2 with S. aureus. Therefore, AgNimB2 may act downstream of complement-like pathway activation, first requiring bacterial opsonization. In addition, it has been shown that AgNimB2 has an anti-Plasmodium effect. Conversely, AgEater is a membrane-bound protein that either functions redundantly or is dispensable for phagocytosis of E. coli or S. aureus. Our study provides insights into the role of members of the complex Nimrod superfamily in An. gambiae, the most important African vector of human malaria.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Midega
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blight
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lombardo
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Povelones
authors.forename: Fotis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kafatos
authors.forename: George K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Christophides
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D010587:Phagocytosis; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000276:immunology; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic
keywords: Anopheles gambiae,; EGF-like repeats; Innate immunity,; Microbiota,; NIM repeats,; Nimrod superfamily,; Phagocytosis,