Humoral and cellular immune responses induced by the urease-derived peptide Jaburetox in the model organism Rhodnius prolixus

FRUTTERO, L.L.; MOYETTA, N.R.; UBERTI, A.F.; COSTE GRAHL, M.V.; LOPES, F.C.; BROLL, V.; FEDER, D.; CARLINI, C.R.

PARASITES AND VECTORS

BIOMED CENTRAL LTD

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2016 vol. 9

1756-3305

ackground: Although the entomotoxicity of plant ureases has been reported almost 20 years ago, their insecticidal mechanism of action is still not well understood. Jaburetox is a recombinant peptide derived from one of the isoforms of Canavalia ensiformis (Jack Bean) urease that presents biotechnological interest since it is toxic to insects of different orders. Previous studies of our group using the Chagas disease vector and model insect Rhodnius prolixus showed that the treatment with Jack Bean Urease (JBU) led to hemocyte aggregation and hemolymph darkening, among other effects. In this work, we employed cell biology and biochemical approaches to investigate whether Jaburetox would induce not only cellular but also humoral immune responses in this species. Results: The findings indicated that nanomolar doses of Jaburetox triggered cation-dependent, in vitro aggregation of hemocytes of fifth-instar nymphs and adults. The use of specific eicosanoid synthesis inhibitors revealed that