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Ramos S

Gut Microbiota Elicits a Protective Immune Response against Malaria Transmission

Glycosylation processes are under high natural selection pressure, presumably because these can modulate resistance to infection. Here, we asked whether inactivation of the UDP-galactose:β-galactoside-α1-3-galactosyltransferase (α1,3GT) gene, which ablated the expression of the Galα1-3Galβ1-4GlcNAc-R (α-gal) glycan and allowed for the production of anti-α-gal antibodies (Abs) in humans, confers protection against Plasmodium spp. infection, the causative agent of malaria and a major driving force in human evolution.
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CpG-containing oligodeoxynucleotides increases resistance of Anopheles mosquitoes to Plasmodium infection.

Unmethylated CpG dinucleotide motifs in bacterial DNA or in synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) are potent stimulators of the vertebrate innate immune system. However, the potential of these DNA species to modulate mosquito immunity have not been explored. In the present study, we investigated the effects of CpG-ODN on the outcome of Plasmodium infection in insects and on the modulation of mosquito immunity to Plasmodium.
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Anopheles gambiae eicosanoids modulate Plasmodium berghei survival from oocyst to salivary gland invasion

Eicosanoids affect the immunity of several pathogen/insect models, but their role on the Anopheles gambiae response to Plasmodium is still unknown. Plasmodium berghei-infected mosquitoes were injected with an eicosanoid biosynthesis inhibitor, indomethacin (IN), or a substrate, arachidonic acid (AA), at day 7 or day 12 post-infection (p.i.).
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