A megacyte (large cell in the center) next to a normal granulocyte (small cell on the top right). Image credit: Ana Beatriz Ferreira Barletta (CC0)
Malaria causes hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. This devastating disease is caused by Plasmodium parasites, which are transmitted to people through female Anopheles gambiae mosquitos. Mosquitos become infected with Plasmodium when they ingest blood containing these malaria-causing parasites. However, Plasmodium must avoid the mosquito immune system to survive and spread.
The mosquito immune system is made up of several types of immune cells, including cells known as granulocytes. Granulocytes can further develop into additional cell subtypes, such as megacytes and antimicrobial granulocytes, but it is not clear how these types of cells work to protect mosquitos against infections.
In the mosquitos that transmit malaria, a cell signaling pathway called Toll helps control immune responses to disease-causing microbes, such as Plasmodium. When Toll signaling is strongly triggered in mosquitos, Plasmodium infection is eliminated because immune cell responses are enhanced – which results in lower levels of transmission to humans. But what is the underlying mechanism through which high levels of Toll signaling eradicate Plasmodium infection?
To find out, Barletta et al. collected cell samples from A. gambiae mosquitos and analyzed what happened when Toll signaling was strongly activated. They observed a large increase in the proportion of megacytes in these mosquitos (from 2% to 80% of all granulocytes). Toll signaling also caused megacytes to become bigger, cluster together, and have higher plasticity – meaning they could adopt different shapes. Barletta et al. used microscopy to show that these megacytes were releasing large mitochondria-like structures and membrane vesicles , which may be the trigger activating the mosquito’s immune system. In live mosquitos, megacytes move towards the area of the Plasmodium infection and release microvesicles. These microvesicles are known to activate a part of the the mosquito’s immune system called the complement-like system, destroying the parasites and preventing mosquito infection and disease transmission.
These findings show how strong Toll signaling triggers the mosquito immune system to eliminate Plasmodium infections. Understanding how the mosquito immune system tackles Plasmodium infection may help reveal ways to reduce or block transmission.
