Abstract
To successfully feed on blood, hematophagous arthropods must combat the host's natural hemostatic and inflammatory responses. Salivary proteins of blood-feeding insects such as mosquitoes contain compounds that inhibit these common host defenses against blood loss, including vasoconstriction, platelet aggregation, blood clotting, pain, and itching. The D7 proteins are some of the most abundantly expressed proteins in female mosquito salivary glands and have been implicated in inhibiting host hemostatic and inflammatory responses. Anopheles gambiae, the primary vector of malaria, expresses three D7 long-form and five D7 short-form proteins. Previous studies have characterized the AngaD7 short-forms, but the D7 long-form proteins have not yet been characterized in detail. Here, we characterized the A. gambiae D7 long-forms by first determining their binding kinetics to hemostatic agonists such as leukotrienes and serotonin, which are potent activators of vasoconstriction, edema formation, and postcapillary venule leakage, followed by ex vivo functional assays. We found that AngaD7L1 binds leukotriene C4 and thromboxane A2 analog U-46619; AngaD7L2 weakly binds leukotrienes B4 and D4; and AngaD7L3 binds serotonin. Subsequent functional assays confirmed AngaD7L1 inhibits U-46619-induced platelet aggregation and vasoconstriction, and AngaD7L3 inhibits serotonin-induced platelet aggregation and vasoconstriction. It is therefore possible that AngaD7L proteins counteract host hemostasis by scavenging these mediators. Finally, we demonstrate that AngaD7L2 had a dose-dependent anticoagulant effect via the intrinsic coagulation pathway by interacting with factors XII, XIIa, and XI. The uncovering of these interactions in the present study will be essential for comprehensive understanding of the vector-host biochemical interface.