AMINOPROPEPTIDE OF HUMAN PROCOLLAGEN TYPE-I - A MARKER FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF BLOOD FROM CHILDREN IN THE MOSQUITO BLOOD MEAL

A capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to distinguish bet ween blood from children and adults in the mosquito blood meal was exa mined using the alpha(1) chain of the aminopropeptide of human procoll agen type I (PINP) as antigenic marker. Rabbit anti-human PINP (alpha( 1)) antibody was used as catching antibody, and either normal serum fr om 288 African and 58 Caucasian children and adults, or blood meals fr om 93 fed Aedes aegypti, were examined. PINP in excess of 40 optical d ensity units (ODU) was detected in all children aged 0-13 years, where as adults aged 21-77 years had PINP levels less than 25 ODU. In the tr ansitional age group (14-20 years), the PINP levels ranged from 1 to 1 66 ODU. The PINP levels in 95% of the mosquito blood meals obtained fr om children exceeded the control levels, using 13 ODU as a cut-off val ue, whereas none of the blood meals from adults exceeded 13 ODU. The P INP levels in the mosquito blood meals were constant 1 and 8 h after i ngestion, but they had decreased significantly after 16-19 h. Our data suggest that the test can be used to identify host preferences in stu dies of mosquitoes collected within 16 h after the blood meal. A field evaluation is necessary to determine the potential of the antigenic m arker PINP as a tool in the identification of mosquito host preference .