A compendium of molecules involved in vector-pathogen interactions pertaining to malaria

Sreelakshmi K Sreenivasamurthy, Gourav Dey, Manjula Ramu, Manish Kumar, Manoj K Gupta, Ajeet K Mohanty, HC Harsha, Pushkar Sharma, Nirbhay Kumar, Akhilesh Pandey, Ashwani Kumar, TS Keshava Prasad

Malaria is a vector-borne disease causing extensive morbidity, debility and mortality. Development of resistance to drugs among parasites and to conventional insecticides among vector-mosquitoes necessitates innovative measures to combat this disease. Identification of molecules involved in the maintenance of complex developmental cycles of the parasites within the vector and the host can provide attractive targets to intervene in the disease transmission. In the last decade, several efforts have been made in identifying such molecules involved in mosquito-parasite interactions and, subsequently, validating their role in the development of parasites within the vector. In this study, a list of mosquito proteins, which facilitate or inhibit the development of malaria parasites in the midgut, haemolymph and salivary glands of mosquitoes, is compiled. A total of 94 molecules have been reported and validated for their role in the development of malaria parasites inside the vector. This compendium of molecules will serve as a centralized resource to biomedical researchers investigating vector-pathogen interactions and malaria transmission.