title: pH-Dependent entry of chikungunya virus fusion into mosquito cells.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Millions of human infections caused by arthropod-borne pathogens are initiated by the feeding of an infected mosquito on a vertebrate. However, interactions between the viruses and the mosquito vector, which facilitates successful infection and transmission of virus to a subsequent vertebrate host, are still not fully understood.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Here we describe early chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infectious events in cells derived from one of the most important CHIKV vectors, Aedes albopictus. We demonstrated that CHIKV infection of mosquito cells depended on acidification of the endosome as indicated by significant inhibition following prophylactic treatment with the lysosomotropic drugs chloroquine, ammonium chloride, and monensin, which is consistent with observations in mammalian cells. While all three agents inhibited CHIKV infection in C6/36 cells, ammonium chloride was less toxic to cells than the other agents.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The observation of similar mechanisms for inhibition of CHIKV infection in mosquito and mammalian cell lines suggests that conserved entry pathways are utilized by CHIKV for vertebrate and invertebrate cell types.
authors.affiliation: Medical Countermeasure Systems, Joint Vaccine Acquisition Program, Fort Detrick, MD, 21702, USA. john.t.nuckols.mil@mail.mil.
authors.forename: John T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Nuckols
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, 77555, USA. ajmcaule@utmb.edu.
authors.forename: Alexander J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: McAuley
authors.affiliation: Biosecurity Research Institute, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, 66506, USA. yshuang1985@bri.ksu.edu.|Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA. yshuang1985@bri.ksu.edu.
authors.forename: Yan-Jang S
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Biosecurity Research Institute, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, 66506, USA. kmhorne@ksu.edu.
authors.forename: Kate M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Horne
authors.affiliation: Biosecurity Research Institute, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, 66506, USA. shiggs@bri.ksu.edu.|Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA. shiggs@bri.ksu.edu.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Higgs
authors.affiliation: Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, 78245, USA. rdavey@txbiomed.org.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Davey
authors.affiliation: Biosecurity Research Institute, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, 66506, USA. dlvanlan@vet.ksu.edu.|Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA. dlvanlan@vet.ksu.edu.
authors.forename: Dana L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Vanlandingham
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000821:virology*; D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D002460:Cell Line; D002646:Chikungunya virus / Q000502:physiology*; D011992:Endosomes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000821:virology*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D053586:Virus Internalization
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents