Whole Transcriptome Analysis of <i>Aedes albopictus</i> Mosquito Head and Thorax Post-Chikungunya Virus Infection

Autor: Ravi kiran Vedururu, Matthew J. Neave, Vinod Sundaramoorthy, Diane Green, Jennifer A. Harper, Paul R. Gorry, Jean-Bernard Duchemin, Prasad N. Paradkar

Médium: Article
Vydáno: MDPI AG 2019-08-01

Popis

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is transmitted by <i>Aedes</i> mosquitoes and causes prolonged arthralgia in patients. After crossing the mosquito midgut barrier, the virus disseminates to tissues including the head and salivary glands. To better understand the interaction between <i>Aedes albopictus</i> and CHIKV, we performed RNASeq analysis on pools of mosquito heads and parts of the thorax 8 days post infection, which identified 159 differentially expressed transcripts in infected mosquitos compared to uninfected controls. After validation using RT-qPCR (reverse transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction), inhibitor of Bruton&#8217;s tyrosine kinase (<i>BTKi</i>), which has previously been shown to be anti-inflammatory in mammals after viral infection, was further evaluated for its functional significance. Knockdown of <i>BTKi</i> using double-stranded RNA in a mosquito cell line showed no significant difference in viral RNA or infectivity titer. However, <i>BTKi</i> gene knocked-down cells showed increased apoptosis 24 hours post-infection compared with control cells, suggesting involvement of <i>BTKi</i> in the mosquito response to viral infection. Since <i>BTK</i> in mammals promotes an inflammatory response and has been shown to be involved in osteoclastogenesis, a hallmark of CHIKV pathogenesis, our results suggest a possible conserved mechanism at play between mosquitoes and mammals. Taken together, these results will add to our understanding of <i>Aedes Albopictus</i> interactions with CHIKV.