title: Epoxide hydrolase activities and epoxy fatty acids in the mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus.
abstract: Culex mosquitoes have emerged as important model organisms for mosquito biology, and are disease vectors for multiple mosquito-borne pathogens, including West Nile virus. We characterized epoxide hydrolase activities in the mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus, which suggested multiple forms of epoxide hydrolases were present. We found EH activities on epoxy eicosatrienoic acids (EETs). EETs and other eicosanoids are well-established lipid signaling molecules in vertebrates. We showed EETs can be synthesized in vitro from arachidonic acids by mosquito lysate, and EETs were also detected in vivo both in larvae and adult mosquitoes by LC-MS/MS. The EH activities on EETs can be induced by blood feeding, and the highest activity was observed in the midgut of female mosquitoes. The enzyme activities on EETs can be inhibited by urea-based inhibitors designed for mammalian soluble epoxide hydrolases (sEH). The sEH inhibitors have been shown to play diverse biological roles in mammalian systems, and they can be useful tools to study the function of EETs in mosquitoes. Besides juvenile hormone metabolism and detoxification, insect epoxide hydrolases may also play a role in regulating lipid signaling molecules, such as EETs and other epoxy fatty acids, synthesized in vivo or obtained from blood feeding by female mosquitoes.
authors: Department of Entomology and UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors: Jiawen
authors: J
authors: Xu
authors: Department of Entomology and UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors: Christophe
authors: C
authors: Morisseau
authors: Department of Entomology and UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors: Jun
authors: J
authors: Yang
authors: Department of Entomology and UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors: Dadala M
authors: DM
authors: Mamatha
authors: Department of Entomology and UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA. Electronic address: bdhammock@ucdavis.edu.
authors: Bruce D
authors: BD
authors: Hammock
mesh_terms: D015126:8,11,14-Eicosatrienoic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001769:Blood; D003465:Culex / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D004537:Eicosanoic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D015777:Eicosanoids / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004851:Epoxide Hydrolases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D004852:Epoxy Compounds / Q000378:metabolism; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D007814:Larva / Q000378:metabolism; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D004537:Eicosanoic Acids; D015777:Eicosanoids; D004852:Epoxy Compounds; D005227:Fatty Acids; D019476:Insect Proteins; C046782:14,15-epoxy-5,8,11-eicosatrienoic acid; D004851:Epoxide Hydrolases; D015126:8,11,14-Eicosatrienoic Acid
keywords: Eicosanoid; Epoxide hydrolase; Epoxy fatty acid; Inhibitor; Mosquito; Signaling molecule