News Release

New molecular target for malaria control identified

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PLOS

Malaria is a leading cause of death in tropical and subtropical regions and it is transmitted by a bite from infected female mosquitoes. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, malaria claims nearly 660,000 lives per year, 90% of them in Africa—and most of them children. There were an estimated 216 million malaria cases worldwide in 2010, mostly among pregnant women and children. Despite the efforts to develop a vaccine, there is still not an effective one thus other strategies, such as blocking egg development in malaria mosquito, could significantly reduce transmission of the disease.

Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and University of Perugia (UNIPG) have shown that egg development in the mosquito species, primarily responsible for spreading malaria, depends on a switch in the female that is turned on by a male hormone delivered during sex. Blocking the activation of this switch could impair the ability of the species, Anopheles gambiae, to reproduce, and may be a viable future strategy for mosquito and malaria control. The study is published October 29, in the open access journal PLOS Biology.

"These findings represent a significant step forward in our understanding of how these devastating malaria vectors reproduce," said Flaminia Catteruccia, associate professor of immunology and infectious diseases at HSPH and UNIPG.

The researchers studied the interaction between a steroid hormone called 20-hydroxy-ecdysone, or 20E—which is transferred from the male to the female mosquito during mating—and a female "Mating-Induced Stimulator of Oogenesis," or MISO, protein (oogenesis is the process by which an egg cell is created).

They used chemical techniques to suppress MISO's functioning in female mosquitoes and found that doing so reduced egg development. They also found that MISO and 20E interact in the female mosquito's reproductive tract. Further, they identified the signalling pathway through which 20E affects MISO. The 20E-MISO interaction boosts the accumulation of fat in the ovaries, which is needed to fuel oogenesis, leading to a more rapid and higher production of eggs. Thus, the researchers concluded that egg development depends on this "switch," formed by 20E and MISO, which is turned on in the female when 20E is delivered during sex.

Male-transferred 20E essentially acts as a "mating signal" for the female to produce more eggs. "How males contributed to egg development had been previously unknown; with the identification of the molecular players of this male-female interaction we can now find ways to switch off the signal and prevent females from reproducing," said Catteruccia.

"This is the first time, in any insect species, that a male hormone has been shown to directly interact with a female protein and alter the ability of the female to reproduce", said co-author Francesco Baldini, a UNIPG graduate student who performed part of the analyses as a visiting scientist at HSPH.

The researchers claim this new finding holds promise for the development of new tools for controlling malaria-transmitting mosquito populations.

###

Funding: This study was sponsored by the European Research Council FP7 ERC Starting Grant project 'Anorep' (grant ID: 260897; http://erc.europa.eu/), by the European Commission FP7 projects INFRAVEC (grant ID: 228421; http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html), by a Wellcome Trust grant (grant ID: 093553; http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/), and by Department funding from the Harvard School of Public Health to FC. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation: Baldini F, Gabrieli P, South A, Valim C, Mancini F, et al. (2013) The Interaction between a Sexually Transferred Steroid Hormone and a Female Protein Regulates Oogenesis in the Malaria Mosquito Anopheles gambiae. PLoS Biol 11(10): e1001695. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001695

PLEASE ADD THE LINK TO THE PUBLISHED ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT: http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001695

CONTACT:

Dr Catteruccia
Associate Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases
Harvard School of Public Health
Immunology and Infectious Diseases
UNITED STATES
+1-617/432-1773
fcatter@hsph.harvard.edu

Disclaimer:

This press release refers to an upcoming article in PLOS Biology. The release is provided by journal staff, or by the article authors and/or their institutions. Any opinions expressed in this release or article are the personal views of the contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLOS. PLOS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the releases and articles and your use of such information.

About PLOS Biology:

PLOS Biology is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal published by PLOS, featuring research articles of exceptional significance, originality, and relevance in all areas of biology. Copyright on all works is retained by the authors. PLOS uses the Creative Commons Attribution License.

About PLOS:

PLOS is a non-profit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world's scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource. For more information, visit http://www.plos.org.


Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.