Disrupting Mosquito Reproduction and Parasite Development for Malaria Control.
The control of mosquito populations with insecticide treated bed nets and indoor residual sprays remains the cornerstone of malaria reduction and elimination programs. In light of widespread insecticide resistance in mosquitoes, however, alternative strategies for reducing transmission by the mosqui...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2016-12-01
|
| Series: | PLoS Pathogens |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5158081?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1818912095905775616 |
|---|---|
| author | Lauren M Childs Francisco Y Cai Evdoxia G Kakani Sara N Mitchell Doug Paton Paolo Gabrieli Caroline O Buckee Flaminia Catteruccia |
| author_facet | Lauren M Childs Francisco Y Cai Evdoxia G Kakani Sara N Mitchell Doug Paton Paolo Gabrieli Caroline O Buckee Flaminia Catteruccia |
| author_sort | Lauren M Childs |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The control of mosquito populations with insecticide treated bed nets and indoor residual sprays remains the cornerstone of malaria reduction and elimination programs. In light of widespread insecticide resistance in mosquitoes, however, alternative strategies for reducing transmission by the mosquito vector are urgently needed, including the identification of safe compounds that affect vectorial capacity via mechanisms that differ from fast-acting insecticides. Here, we show that compounds targeting steroid hormone signaling disrupt multiple biological processes that are key to the ability of mosquitoes to transmit malaria. When an agonist of the steroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) is applied to Anopheles gambiae females, which are the dominant malaria mosquito vector in Sub Saharan Africa, it substantially shortens lifespan, prevents insemination and egg production, and significantly blocks Plasmodium falciparum development, three components that are crucial to malaria transmission. Modeling the impact of these effects on Anopheles population dynamics and Plasmodium transmission predicts that disrupting steroid hormone signaling using 20E agonists would affect malaria transmission to a similar extent as insecticides. Manipulating 20E pathways therefore provides a powerful new approach to tackle malaria transmission by the mosquito vector, particularly in areas affected by the spread of insecticide resistance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T23:09:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-439b307fb07946a78917f54e86c579df |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1553-7366 1553-7374 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T23:09:09Z |
| publishDate | 2016-12-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj.art-439b307fb07946a78917f54e86c579df2022-12-21T20:02:17ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Pathogens1553-73661553-73742016-12-011212e100606010.1371/journal.ppat.1006060Disrupting Mosquito Reproduction and Parasite Development for Malaria Control.Lauren M ChildsFrancisco Y CaiEvdoxia G KakaniSara N MitchellDoug PatonPaolo GabrieliCaroline O BuckeeFlaminia CatterucciaThe control of mosquito populations with insecticide treated bed nets and indoor residual sprays remains the cornerstone of malaria reduction and elimination programs. In light of widespread insecticide resistance in mosquitoes, however, alternative strategies for reducing transmission by the mosquito vector are urgently needed, including the identification of safe compounds that affect vectorial capacity via mechanisms that differ from fast-acting insecticides. Here, we show that compounds targeting steroid hormone signaling disrupt multiple biological processes that are key to the ability of mosquitoes to transmit malaria. When an agonist of the steroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) is applied to Anopheles gambiae females, which are the dominant malaria mosquito vector in Sub Saharan Africa, it substantially shortens lifespan, prevents insemination and egg production, and significantly blocks Plasmodium falciparum development, three components that are crucial to malaria transmission. Modeling the impact of these effects on Anopheles population dynamics and Plasmodium transmission predicts that disrupting steroid hormone signaling using 20E agonists would affect malaria transmission to a similar extent as insecticides. Manipulating 20E pathways therefore provides a powerful new approach to tackle malaria transmission by the mosquito vector, particularly in areas affected by the spread of insecticide resistance.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5158081?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Lauren M Childs Francisco Y Cai Evdoxia G Kakani Sara N Mitchell Doug Paton Paolo Gabrieli Caroline O Buckee Flaminia Catteruccia Disrupting Mosquito Reproduction and Parasite Development for Malaria Control. PLoS Pathogens |
| title | Disrupting Mosquito Reproduction and Parasite Development for Malaria Control. |
| title_full | Disrupting Mosquito Reproduction and Parasite Development for Malaria Control. |
| title_fullStr | Disrupting Mosquito Reproduction and Parasite Development for Malaria Control. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Disrupting Mosquito Reproduction and Parasite Development for Malaria Control. |
| title_short | Disrupting Mosquito Reproduction and Parasite Development for Malaria Control. |
| title_sort | disrupting mosquito reproduction and parasite development for malaria control |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5158081?pdf=render |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT laurenmchilds disruptingmosquitoreproductionandparasitedevelopmentformalariacontrol AT franciscoycai disruptingmosquitoreproductionandparasitedevelopmentformalariacontrol AT evdoxiagkakani disruptingmosquitoreproductionandparasitedevelopmentformalariacontrol AT saranmitchell disruptingmosquitoreproductionandparasitedevelopmentformalariacontrol AT dougpaton disruptingmosquitoreproductionandparasitedevelopmentformalariacontrol AT paologabrieli disruptingmosquitoreproductionandparasitedevelopmentformalariacontrol AT carolineobuckee disruptingmosquitoreproductionandparasitedevelopmentformalariacontrol AT flaminiacatteruccia disruptingmosquitoreproductionandparasitedevelopmentformalariacontrol |