So. Cociancich et al., Vesicular ATPase-overexpressing cells determine the distribution of malaria parasite oocysts on the midguts of mosquitoes, J BIOL CHEM, 274(18), 1999, pp. 12650-12655
In Plasmodium-infected mosquitoes, oocysts are preferentially located at th
e posterior half of the posterior midgut, Because mosquitoes rest verticall
y after feeding, the effect of gravity on the ingested blood has been propo
sed as the cause of such a biased distribution. In this paper, we examined
the oocyst distribution on the midguts of mosquitoes that were continuously
rotated to nullify the effect of gravity and found that the typical patter
n of oocyst distribution did not change, Invasion of the midgut epithelium
by ookinetes was similarly found to be biased toward the posterior part of
the posterior midgut, We examined whether the distribution of oocysts depen
ds on the distribution of vesicular ATPase (V-ATPase)-overexpressing cells
that Plasmodium ookinetes preferentially use to cross the midgut epithelium
. An antiserum raised against recombinant Aedes aegypti V-ATPase B subunit
indicated that the majority of VATPase-overexpressing cells in Ae. aegypti
and Anopheles gambiae are localized at the posterior part of the posterior
midgut, We propose that the typical distribution of oocysts on the mosquito
midgut is attributable to the presence and the spatial distribution of the
V-ATPase-overexpressing cells in the midgut epithelium.