Publication
Title
Options for the delivery of anti-pathogen molecules in arthropod vectors
Author
Abstract
Blood feeding arthropods are responsible for the transmission of a large array of medically important infectious agents that include viruses, bacteria, protozoan parasites and helminths. The recent development of transgenic and paratransgenic technologies have enabled supplementing the immune system of these arthropod vectors with anti-pathogen effector molecules in view of compromising their vector competence for these microbial agents. The characteristics of the selected anti-pathogen compound will largely determine the efficacy and specificity of this approach. Low specificity will generally result in bystander effects, likely having a direct or indirect fitness cost for the arthropod. In contrast, the use of highly specific compounds from the adaptive immune system of vertebrates such as antibody derived fragments is more likely to enable highly specific effects without conferring a selective disadvantage to the (para)transgenic arthropods. Here, Nanobodies (R) are excellent candidates to increase the immune competence of arthropods. Moreover they were shown to exert a novel type of anti-pathogen activity that uniquely depends on their small size. Copyright (c) International Atomic Energy Agency 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Journal of invertebrate pathology. - New York
Publication
New York : 2013
ISSN
0022-2011
DOI
10.1016/J.JIP.2012.07.013
Volume/pages
112 :S:1 (2013) , p. 75-82
ISI
000317872200012
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Publication type
Subject
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 13.01.2016
Last edited 04.02.2023
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