Protein profiles of dengue-infected Aedes aegypti (L)

The protein profiles of DENV-2 and DENV-4 viruses-infected adult Aedes aegypti were analysed using Coomassie-stained SDS-PAGE samples. For this study, adult female mosquitoes were infected orally with either DENV-2 or DENV-4 virus using spiked human blood samples. The infections in the individual mosquitoes were confirmed using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). From the SDS-PAGE analyses, a total of 11 proteins with molecular weights of 22 kDa to greater than 181.8 kDa were identified in DENV-2 and DENV-4-infected mosquito homogenates. Three proteins (Mr 49, 64 and 200 kDa) from DENV-2-infected mosquitoes and five proteins (Mr 49, 50, 60, 135 and 200 kDa) from DENV-4-infected mosquitoes were identified at higher concentrations than in uninfected controls. Further work is now needed to specifically identify these proteins and study their biological roles in DENV infections.