Which Mosquitoes Have Heart Attacks?

Wouter

Several mosquito species are known to transmit diseases to humans and other animals. Some, such as plasmodium falciparum, are responsible for the most severe malaria cases. Others, such as Zika virus, have been linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome. However, researchers are still trying to understand which animals are at risk. Currently, there are no clear data about which mosquitoes may be more likely to develop heart failure.

To better understand the biology of mosquitoes, researchers studied the circulatory system of an adult malaria mosquito. In this study, hemocytes were fluorescently labeled using CM-DiI. The results showed that hemocytes are present in areas surrounding the thoraco-abdominal ostia and posterior excurrent openings of the heart. They were also observed at sites where intracardiac retrograde hemolymph flow occurs.

The mosquito’s circulatory system is unique compared to the circulatory systems of mammals. The adult mosquito has six pairs of incurrent ostia in abdominal segments 2-7. The hemolymph enters these ostia through the mosquito’s dorsal bloodstream. It then exits through an excurrent opening in the mosquito’s head. It is unclear if all mosquitoes have hemocytes at these locations.

A comparison of the hemocyte distribution among naive and injured mosquitoes showed that naive mosquitoes had a higher percentage of hemocytes at thoraco-abdominal and posterior excurrent ostia. In contrast, the incidence of hemocytes at these locations was low in injured mosquitoes.

In both types of mosquitoes, the number of hemocytes at these sites did not increase following infection. Interestingly, the hemocytes were found in asymmetric distribution across the abdomen.

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