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Article
Open AccessHuman IgG responses to the Aedes albopictus 34k2 salivary protein: analyses in Réunion Island and Bolivia confirm its suitability as marker of host exposure to the tiger mosquito
The rapid worldwide spreading of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus is expanding the risk of arboviral diseases transmission, pointing out the urgent need to improve monitoring and control of mosquito vector popu...
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Article
Open AccessMicroRNAs and other small RNAs in Aedes aegypti saliva and salivary glands following chikungunya virus infection
Mosquito saliva facilitates blood feeding through the anti-haemostatic, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties of its proteins. However, the potential contribution of non-coding RNAs to host manipul...
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Article
Open AccessHuman exposure to Anopheles farauti bites in the Solomon Islands is not associated with IgG antibody response to the gSG6 salivary protein of Anopheles gambiae
Mosquito saliva elicits immune responses in humans following mosquito blood feeding. Detection of human antibodies recognizing the Anopheles gambiae salivary gland protein 6 (gSG6) or the gSG6-P1 peptide in resid...
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Article
Open AccessAn insight into the sialotranscriptome and virome of Amazonian anophelines
Saliva of mosquitoes contains anti-platelet, anti-clotting, vasodilatory, anti-complement and anti-inflammatory substances that help the blood feeding process. The salivary polypeptides are at a fast pace of e...
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Article
Open AccessMicroRNAs from saliva of anopheline mosquitoes mimic human endogenous miRNAs and may contribute to vector-host-pathogen interactions
During blood feeding haematophagous arthropods inject into their hosts a cocktail of salivary proteins whose main role is to counteract host haemostasis, inflammation and immunity. However, animal body fluids ...
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Article
Open AccessDeciphering the olfactory repertoire of the tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus
The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus is a highly invasive species and competent vector of several arboviruses (e.g. dengue, chikungunya, Zika) and parasites (e.g. dirofilaria) of public health importance. Co...
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Article
Open AccessSerological measures to assess the efficacy of malaria control programme on Ambae Island, Vanuatu
Seroepidemiology can provide evidence for temporal changes in malaria transmission and is an important tool to evaluate the effectiveness of control interventions. During the early 2000s, Vanuatu experienced a...
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Article
Open AccessAnopheline salivary protein genes and gene families: an evolutionary overview after the whole genome sequence of sixteen Anopheles species
Mosquito saliva is a complex cocktail whose pharmacological properties play an essential role in blood feeding by counteracting host physiological response to tissue injury. Moreover, vector borne pathogens ar...
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Article
Open AccessAntibody acquisition models: A new tool for serological surveillance of malaria transmission intensity
Serology has become an increasingly important tool for the surveillance of a wide range of infectious diseases. It has been particularly useful to monitor malaria transmission in elimination settings where exi...
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Article
Open AccessDifferential antibody response to the Anopheles gambiae gSG6 and cE5 salivary proteins in individuals naturally exposed to bites of malaria vectors
Mosquito saliva plays crucial roles in blood feeding but also evokes in hosts an anti-saliva antibody response. The IgG response to the Anopheles gambiae salivary protein gSG6 was previously shown to be a reliabl...
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Article
Open AccessWide cross-reactivity between Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus SG6 salivary proteins supports exploitation of gSG6 as a marker of human exposure to major malaria vectors in tropical Africa
The Anopheles gambiae gSG6 is an anopheline-specific salivary protein which helps female mosquitoes to efficiently feed on blood. Besides its role in haematophagy, gSG6 is immunogenic and elicits in exposed indiv...
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Article
Open AccessGenomic organization and splicing evolution of the doublesex gene, a Drosophila regulator of sexual differentiation, in the dengue and yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti
In the model system Drosophila melanogaster, doublesex (dsx) is the double-switch gene at the bottom of the somatic sex determination cascade that determines the differentiation of sexually dimorphic traits. Homo...
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Article
Open AccessAnalysis of apyrase 5' upstream region validates improved Anopheles gambiae transformation technique
Genetic transformation of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae has been successfully achieved in recent years, and represents a potentially powerful tool for researchers. Tissue-, stage- and sex-specific promot...
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Article
Open AccessAn annotated catalogue of salivary gland transcripts in the adult female mosquito, Ædes ægypti*
Saliva of blood-sucking arthropods contains a cocktail of antihemostatic agents and immunomodulators that help blood feeding. Mosquitoes additionally feed on sugar meals and have specialized regions of their g...
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Article
La puntura di artropodi ematofagi quale possible cofattore nella trasmissione di HHV8 (Human Herpes Virus 8) e nell’espressione del sarcoma di Kaposi
Based on a review of the literature on human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) and Kaposi’ sarcoma (KS) and on the distribution of KS in Italy (Veneto in particular), we hypotrhesize that the bite of bloodsucking arthropod...
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Article
Distribution of the Transposable Element Minos in the Genus Drosophila
We analyzed 28 species of the genus Drosophilafor the presence of the Tc1-like transposable element Minosusing Southern blot hybridization under high stringency conditions. The Minostransposon was found in member...
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The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and RT-PCR
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a method for the in vitro enzymatic amplification of DNA, has facilitated greatly the analysis of complex genomes by permitting the characterization and cloning of DNA sequenc...
