A study in which researchers sequenced mosquito transcripts revealed that a strain of Aedes aegypti resistant to Dirofilaria immitis, a parasite that causes canine heartworm disease, activates immune genes more strongly than a susceptible strain; however, activation of the Toll immune signaling pathway in the susceptible strain prevents parasitic larvae from developing and blocks transmission-stage Brugia malayi, an agent of human lymphatic filariasis, suggesting the importance of mosquito immunity to development and transmission of parasitic worms.
Article #19-09369: "Activation of mosquito immunity blocks the development of transmission-stage filarial nematodes," by Elizabeth B. Edgerton et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Michael Povelones, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; tel: 215-898-4144, 484-478-2829; email: mpove@vet.upenn.edu
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences