Researchers at the National University of Singapore have discovered how the dengue virus uses its envelope protein to capture human plasmin from a blood meal. This interaction increases the permeability of the mosquito midgut, making it easier for the virus to infect the salivary glands and spread to humans.
Biological scientists have uncovered how the dengue virus uses its envelope protein to capture human plasmin from a blood meal to enhance the permeability of the mosquito midgut for infection.
Plasmin is a protease that contains five kringle-domains responsible for substrate binding. In addition to digesting blood clots, plasmin is also used for the breakdown of the extracellular matrix to enable cell movement in tissues. While bacteria are known to capture human plasmin to digest host tissue for metastasis, the hijacking of plasmin by viruses for infection is not well studied.
A research team led by Associate Professor MOK Yu Keung from the NUS Department of Biological Science expressed individual domains of human plasmin and the dengue virus envelope protein using an insect cell system. Kinetic binding experiments show that both KR-4 and KR-5 domains are needed to bind synergistically to the dengue virus.
Hijacking of plasminogen by dengue virus: The kringle‐4 and ‐5 domains of plasminogen binds synergistically to the domain I of envelope proteinMosquito-borne viral infections once confined to tropical regions are spreading. Dengue virus infects up to 400 million people worldwide each year according to World Health Organization estimates, ...
DENGA VIRUS MOSQUITOES VIRAL INFECTION PLASMIN PROTEINS
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