Life as a Vector of Dengue Virus: The Antioxidant Strategy of Mosquito Cells to Survive Viral Infection

Abstract

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease of increasing global importance. The disease has caused heavy burdens due to frequent outbreaks in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. The dengue virus (DENV) is generally transmitted between human hosts via the bite of a mosquito vector, primarily Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus as a minor species. It is known that the virus needs to alternately infect mosquito and human cells. DENV-induced cell death is relevant to the pathogenesis in humans as infected cells undergo apoptosis. In contrast, mosquito cells mostly survive the infection; this allows infected mosquitoes to remain healthy enough to serve as an efficient vector in nature. Overexpression of antioxidant genes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutaredoxin (Grx), thioredoxin (Trx), and protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) have been detected in DENV2-infected mosquito cells. Additional antioxidants, including GST, eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5a), and p53 isoform 2 (p53-2), and perhaps some others, are also involved in creating an intracellular environment suitable for cell replication and viral infection. Antiapoptotic effects involving inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) upregulation and subsequent elevation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 activities also play crucial roles in the ability of mosquito cells to survive DENV infection. This article focused on the effects of intracellular responses in mosquito cells to infection primarily by DENVs. It may provide more information to better understand virus/cell interactions that can possibly elucidate the evolutionary pathway that led to the mosquito becoming a vector.

Aedes aegypti Infection With Trypanosomatid Strigomonas culicis Alters Midgut Redox Metabolism and Reduces Mosquito Reproductive Fitness

“…Interestingly, gene expression of several antioxidant enzymes is upregulated during Dengue infection, controlling the immunological ROS response to allow viral development. Thus, mosquitoes with reduced oxidative burst had an expansion of viral load, while the enlargement of ROS production, via catalase silencing, decreases the infection prevalence (Liu et al, 2016;Oliveira et al, 2017;Cheng et al, 2021). Altogether, these findings suggest that innate immune manipulation and oxidative stress exacerbation are important strategies to control viral development in A. aegypti.…”

Impacts of fungal entomopathogens on survival and immune responses of Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens mosquitoes in the context of native Wolbachia infections

“…Elicitation of the oxidative pathway and the corresponding antioxidant defense system are crucial components of the mosquito defense against microbial infections [ 57 , 58 ]. Previous studies with Ae .…”

Comprehension of the Relationship between Autophagy and Reactive Oxygen Species for Superior Cancer Therapy with Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors

“…However, accumulated superoxide anion molecules in cells would happen to be converted by superoxide dismutase (SOD) into hydrogen peroxide [14]. As the hydrogen peroxide is still toxic to cells, it is quickly converted into harmless water in the presence of catalase or glutathione peroxidase [15]. Many studies have accepted that ROS may also play a critical role in physiological processes.…”