Functional immunome of Aedes aegypti saliva

Abstract

Two recent revolutions changed the history of Aedes aegypti mosquito research. The first occurred with the publication of the species' "sialomes". These catalogs, representing the proteins and messenger RNAs present in the salivary gland of this vector, increased the knowledge on the salivary constituents in more than twenty times. The second revolution came through the sequencing of its genome, creating a unique perspective for comparative studies and development of genomic tools for transcriptome analysis and reverse genetics. The current project aims to become a third revolution in the field by establishing the functional "immunome" of Ae. aegypti saliva. In this way, classic biochemical approaches (microfiltration, chromatographic separation, Edman's degradation, mass spectometry) and post genomic biochemical approaches (bioinformatic analysis, genetic cloning, protein expression, peptide synthesis) will be explored side by side in high-throughput immunopharmacological screenings, with the purpose of producing a map of the immunomodulatory activities from the proteins present in the saliva of this mosquito. This project will set up a new research line in the Department of Immunology from Institute of Biomedical Sciences - USP, where the work will be performed. Considering the impact of this vector and the diseases transmitted by it in the public health and in the worldwide economy, specially in developing countries, the knowledge generated by this project may lead to the discovery of new molecules with important biological activities and therapeutic potential, vaccine development against the pathogens transmitted by the mosquito and new approaches for vector control. (AU)