| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
Lutzomyia longipalpis expresses a salivary protein called maxadilan (MAX) that functions to dilate vertebrate blood vessels and thereby to facilitate the sand fly’s acquisition of blood. We hypothesized that antibodies specific for one of many MAX variants would inhibit vasodilatory function of that variant. In vitro and in vivo experiments showed that antibodies against a specific MAX variant decreased vasodilatory function. More specifically, antibodies against MAX blocked vasodilation of a constricted rabbit aorta. Additionally, a strain of Lu. longipalpis, with a nearly uniform MAX genotype, obtained a larger blood meal from naive BALB/c mice compared with mice that were either immunized with a homologous MAX genotype or sensitized to bites of flies from the same strain. Those flies taking blood from mice sensitized by sand fly bites also laid significantly fewer eggs than when they took blood from naive mice. These results have potential epidemiologic importance in light of the potential use of MAX in a vaccine or as part of a diagnostic test because they imply that a uniform MAX genotype is selected against by the vertebrate host immune response and that antigenic diversity is selected for.
Received February 17, 2003. Accepted for publication September 3, 2003.
Acknowledgments: We thank Dr. Daniel Freeman (University of Texas Medical Branch) for discussing the statistical applications used in the manuscript.
Financial support: This work was funded by National Institutes of Health (grants T32 AI-075261 and AI-39540).
Authors’ addresses Rania S. Milleron, Center for Molecular and Cellular Toxicology, Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, Austin, TX 78712-1074, Telephone: 512-471-3968, Fax: 512-471-5002, E-mail: rania{at}uts.cc.utexas.edu. Jose M. C. Ribeiro, Medical Entomology Section, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 4 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-0425, Telephone: 301-496-3066, Fax: 301-402-4941, E-mail: jribeiro{at}nih.gov. Dia Elnaime, Department of Entomology, University of California, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616-8579, Telephone: 530-752-55833, Fax: 530-752-1537, E-mail: daelnaiem{at}ucdavis.edu. Lynn Soong, Departments of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, 301 University Boulevard, MRB 3.142B, Galveston, TX 77555-1070, Telephone: 409-772-8149, Fax: 409-747-6869, E-mail: lysoong{at}utmb.edu. Gregory C. Lanzaro, Department of Entomology, University of California, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616-8579, Telephone: 530-752-5652, Fax: 530-752-1537, E-mail: gclanzaro{at}ucdavis.edu.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  W. H. Wheat, K. E. Pauken, R. V. Morris, and R. G. Titus Lutzomyia longipalpis Salivary Peptide Maxadilan Alters Murine Dendritic Cell Expression of CD80/86, CCR7, and Cytokine Secretion and Reprograms Dendritic Cell-Mediated Cytokine Release from Cultures Containing Allogeneic T Cells J. Immunol., June 15, 2008; 180(12): 8286 - 8298. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. M. Brodie, M. C. Smith, R. V. Morris, and R. G. Titus Immunomodulatory Effects of the Lutzomyia longipalpis Salivary Gland Protein Maxadilan on Mouse Macrophages Infect. Immun., May 1, 2007; 75(5): 2359 - 2365. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
