Transmission-Blocking Antibodies against Mosquito C-Type Lectins for Dengue Prevention

C-type lectins are a family of proteins with carbohydrate-binding activity. several c-type lectins in mammals or arthropods are employed as receptors or attachment factors to facilitate flavivirus invasion. we previously identified a c-type lectin in aedes aegypti,designated as mosquito galactose specific c-type lectin-1 (mosgctl-1),facilitating the attachment of west nile virus (wnv) on the cell membrane. here,we first identified that 9 a. aegypti mosgctl genes were key susceptibility factors facilitating denv-2 infection,of which mosgctl-3 exhibited the most significant effect. we found that mosgctl-3 was induced in mosquito tissues with denv-2 infection,and that the protein interacted with denv-2 surface envelop (e) protein and virions in vitro and in vivo. in addition,the other identified mosgctls interacted with the denv-2 e protein,indicating that denv may employ multiple mosgctls as ligands to promote the infection of vectors. the vectorial susceptibility factors that facilitate pathogen invasion may potentially be explored as a target to disrupt the acquisition of microbes from the vertebrate host. indeed,membrane blood feeding of antisera against mosgctls dramatically reduced mosquito infective ratio. hence,the immunization against mosgctls is a feasible approach for preventing dengue infection. our study provides a future avenue for developing a transmission-blocking vaccine that interrupts the life cycle of dengue virus and reduces disease burden. © 2014 liu et al.