In mosquitoes, the conversion of protein from a blood meal into yolk proteins and lipids for the developing oocytes is an essential part of the reproductive cycle. Blood feeding by a female Aedes aegypti mosquito initiates a series of events in the midgut, the fat body and the ovaries. Female mosquitoes ingest more than their own weight in blood in a short time and then spend the next 36 hours converting the amino acids from the blood proteins into the constituents of their eggs, a process termed vitellogenesis. The process begins in the midgut with the digestions of blood meal proteins and the regulation of digestive enzyme synthesis in the midgut opcurs in two phases. The early phase begins immediately after ingestion of the meal and involves activation of translation. The synthesis of early trypsin serves as.a model for this phase. The late phase begins 6-8 hours after the meal and involves activation of transcription. The synthesis of late trypsin serves as a model for this phase. In this proposal we seek funds to continue work on the mechanism of regulation of digestive enzyme synthesis in the female mosquito midgut following a blood meal. We propose the following two specific aims: . 1. Investigate the mechanism of activation of translation of the early trypsin mRNA following a protein meal. During the first 30 minutes following a blood meal, a peptide or small molecule is present in whole body extracts, which makes an in vitro midgut preparation competent for early trypsin translation. After 30 minutes, a phosphorylation cascade is initiated in the midgut which leads to activation of translation of early trypsin. We propose to isolate and characterize the factor that induces translational competency in the midgut, and to characterize the signaling processes that lead to activation of early trypsin translation. We also propose to investigate the role of the endoplasmic reticulum whorls in regulating secretory protein synthesis in the midgut. 2. Investigate the mechanism of transcriptional regulation of the late trypsin gene. About 6 hours after feeding, late trypsin transcription in the midgut is initiated. We have recently found that ecdysone, and an uncharacterized factor present in extracts prepared from fat bodies of fed mosquitoes, are involved in late trypsin gene induction. We propose to characterize the mechanism of ecdysone regulation of late trypsin expression, and to identify the fat body factor and the role of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI-3K) signaling in modulating late trypsin transcription.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
3R01AI031951-17S1
Application #
7846474
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-VB-P (01))
Program Officer
Costero, Adriana
Project Start
2009-06-05
Project End
2010-09-30
Budget Start
2009-06-05
Budget End
2010-09-30
Support Year
17
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$20,520
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Arizona
Department
Biochemistry
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
806345617
City
Tucson
State
AZ
Country
United States
Zip Code
85721
Isoe, Jun; Stover, Weston; Miesfeld, R Barrett et al. (2013) COPI-mediated blood meal digestion in vector mosquitoes is independent of midgut ARF-GEF and ARF-GAP regulatory activities. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 43:732-9
Mack, Daniel J; Isoe, Jun; Miesfeld, Roger L et al. (2012) Distinct biological effects of golgicide a derivatives on larval and adult mosquitoes. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 22:5177-81
Alabaster, Amy; Isoe, Jun; Zhou, Guoli et al. (2011) Deficiencies in acetyl-CoA carboxylase and fatty acid synthase 1 differentially affect eggshell formation and blood meal digestion in Aedes aegypti. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 41:946-55
Isoe, Jun; Collins, Jennifer; Badgandi, Hemant et al. (2011) Defects in coatomer protein I (COPI) transport cause blood feeding-induced mortality in Yellow Fever mosquitoes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 108:E211-7
Zhou, Guoli; Isoe, Jun; Day, W Antony et al. (2011) Alpha-COPI coatomer protein is required for rough endoplasmic reticulum whorl formation in mosquito midgut epithelial cells. PLoS One 6:e18150
Rascon Jr, Alberto A; Gearin, Johnathon; Isoe, Jun et al. (2011) In vitro activation and enzyme kinetic analysis of recombinant midgut serine proteases from the Dengue vector mosquito Aedes aegypti. BMC Biochem 12:43
Brackney, Doug E; Isoe, Jun; W C 4th, Black et al. (2010) Expression profiling and comparative analyses of seven midgut serine proteases from the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. J Insect Physiol 56:736-44
Isoe, Jun; Rascon Jr, Alberto A; Kunz, Susan et al. (2009) Molecular genetic analysis of midgut serine proteases in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 39:903-12
Isoe, Jun; Zamora, Jorge; Miesfeld, Roger L (2009) Molecular analysis of the Aedes aegypti carboxypeptidase gene family. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 39:68-73
Kelleher, Erin S; Pennington, James E (2009) Protease gene duplication and proteolytic activity in Drosophila female reproductive tracts. Mol Biol Evol 26:2125-34

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