Differential Susceptibility and Innate Immune Response of <i>Aedes aegypti</i> and <i>Aedes albopictus</i> to the Haitian Strain of the Mayaro Virus

• Main Authors: Fodé Diop, Haoues Alout, Cheikh Tidiane Diagne, Michèle Bengue, Cécile Baronti, Rodolphe Hamel, Loïc Talignani, Florian Liegeois, Julien Pompon, Ronald E Morales Vargas, Antoine Nougairède, Dorothée Missé
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-10-01
• Series: Viruses
• Subjects: arbovirus; mayaro virus; <i>aedes aegypti</i>; <i>aedes albopictus</i>; chondrocytes; ml26a; niemann–pick type c1
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/11/10/924

Mayaro (MAYV) is an emerging arthropod-borne virus belonging to the Alphavirus genus of the <i>Togaviridae</i> family. Although forest-dwelling <i>Haemagogus</i> mosquitoes have been considered as its main vector, the virus has also been detected in circulating <i>Aedes ssp</i> mosquitoes. Here we assess the susceptibility of <i>Aedes aegypti</i> and <i>Aedes albopictus</i> to infection with MAYV and their innate immune response at an early stage of infection. <i>Aedes albopictus</i> was more susceptible to infection with MAYV than <i>Ae. aegypti.</i> Analysis of transcript levels of twenty immunity-related genes by real-time PCR in the midgut of both mosquitoes infected with MAYV revealed increased expression of several immune genes, including CLIP-domain serine proteases, the anti-microbial peptides defensin A, E, cecropin E, and the virus inducible gene. The regulation of certain genes appeared to be <i>Aedes</i> species-dependent. Infection of <i>Ae. aegypti</i> with MAYV resulted in increased levels of myeloid differentiation2-related lipid recognition protein (<i>ML26A</i>) transcripts, as compared to <i>Ae. albopictus</i>. Increased expression levels of thio-ester-containing protein 22 (<i>TEP22</i>) and Niemann&#8722;Pick type C1 (<i>NPC1</i>) gene transcripts were observed in infected <i>Ae. albopictus</i>, but not <i>Ae. aegypti</i>. The differences in these gene expression levels during MAYV infection could explain the variation in susceptibility observed in both mosquito species.