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Human blood is particularly attractive to mosquitoes because it contains the protein they need to lay their eggs. After being fed, swollen mosquitoes often do not feed for several days. ( pixabay )
Is it possible to make mosquitoes essentially a "diet"? Researchers of a new study are discovering how dietary drugs could prevent mosquito bites.
Behavior of mosquitoes
It is known that mosquitoes feed on blood and that they are particularly attracted to human blood because it contains the necessary proteins for spawning. Once fed and full, their desire for blood will collapse and they will usually not feed for several days.
In humans, neuropeptide-Y (NPY) receptors regulate food intake, and there are anti-obesity drugs that have been developed to activate or inhibit them. Researchers have conducted an experiment to determine the effects of such types of drugs on NPY in mosquitoes.
During the experiment, they fed the mosquitoes with a saline solution containing the drugs that activate the NPY receptors in humans and observed how the mosquitoes were willing to fly to a low worn long enough to absorb human odors meal. In addition, mosquitoes fed saline with NPY receptor blocking drugs behaved as if they had not even eaten at all.
Hunger
The team then cloned 49 neuropeptide receptors and exposed them to the compounds to accurately determine the receptor in question and found that only NPYLR7 responded to drugs for human use. Then, in their search for molecules that can activate NPYLR7 without affecting humans, the researchers tested 250,000 candidates and found that what they called "compound 18" was able to suppress the appetite of mosquitoes without effects. undesirable.
To test this, the researchers exposed the mosquitoes to a mouse and found that those to whom compound 18 had been administered behaved as if they had just taken a full meal.
New strategy against mosquitoes
The researchers' strategy could be extremely useful in controlling vectors and preventing mosquito-borne diseases. Hopefully, they will soon be able to determine exactly where insects produce NPYLR7 in their bodies and how compound 18 can be delivered in the wild.
That said, researchers have focused on the species Aedes aegypti, but there are still other species of mosquitoes and insects that can spread diseases. It is possible, however, that the same compound also suppresses their appetite.
The study is published in the journal Cell.
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