title: Emerging role of lipid droplets in Aedes aegypti immune response against bacteria and Dengue virus.
abstract: In mammals, lipid droplets (LDs) are ubiquitous organelles that modulate immune and inflammatory responses through the production of lipid mediators. In insects, it is unknown whether LDs play any role during the development of immune responses. We show that Aedes aegypti Aag2 cells - an immune responsive cell lineage - accumulates LDs when challenged with Enterobacter cloacae, Sindbis, and Dengue viruses. Microarray analysis of Aag2 challenged with E.cloacae or infected with Dengue virus revealed high transcripts levels of genes associated with lipid storage and LDs biogenesis, correlating with the increased LDs numbers in those conditions. Similarly, in mosquitoes, LDs accumulate in midgut cells in response to Serratia marcescens and Sindbis virus or when the native microbiota proliferates, following a blood meal. Also, constitutive activation of Toll and IMD pathways by knocking-down their respective negative modulators (Cactus and Caspar) increases LDs numbers in the midgut. Our results show for the first time an infection-induced LDs accumulation in response to both bacterial and viral infections in Ae. Aegypti, and we propose a role for LDs in mosquito immunity. These findings open new venues for further studies in insect immune responses associated with lipid metabolism.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Bioquímica de Artrópodes Hematófagos, Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo De Meis, Programa de Biologia Molecular e Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.|Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular (INCT-EM), Brasil.
authors.forename: Ana Beatriz Ferreira
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Barletta
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Câncer, Hospital do Câncer II, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
authors.forename: Liliane Rosa
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Bioquímica de Artrópodes Hematófagos, Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo De Meis, Programa de Biologia Molecular e Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
authors.forename: Maria Clara L Nascimento
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Shuzhen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sim
authors.affiliation: W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dimopoulos
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunopharmacology, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liechocki
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunopharmacology, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
authors.forename: Clarissa M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Maya-Monteiro
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Bioquímica de Artrópodes Hematófagos, Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo De Meis, Programa de Biologia Molecular e Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.|Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular (INCT-EM), Brasil.
authors.forename: Marcos H Ferreira
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Sorgine
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology; D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000276:immunology*; D016972:Enterobacter cloacae / Q000276:immunology*; D066292:Lipid Droplets / Q000276:immunology*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000276:immunology*; D012706:Serratia marcescens / Q000276:immunology; D012845:Sindbis Virus / Q000276:immunology