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Viruses make infected people more attractive to mosquitoes

Viruses make infected people more attractive to mosquitoes

Dengue and Zika viruses manipulate the microbiota of infected people, making them more likely to be bitten by mosquitoes

Are viruses smart? It can sometimes seem that way because of the sophisticated methods they develop to spread. For example, those infected with the dengue or zika virus secrete a substance that attracts mosquitoes, the insect responsible for spreading these viruses. However, this substance does not come from the infected person, but from bacteria that live on the skin and multiply better due to the infection.

according to one study published in the journal Cell by scientists at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Flaviviruses, such as dengue and zika, suppress the skin protein RELMα, one of those that keep bacteria at bay. This increases the population of bacteria that produce a substance called acetophenone, which turns out to be a powerful bait for mosquitoes that spread viruses.

The researchers also found a solution. The effect can be avoided by taking the acne medication isotretinoin as it stimulates the production of RELMα

The study builds on the research team’s finding that mosquitoes prefer to bite mice infected with dengue or Zika. Both viruses spread by being transmitted from host to host by mosquitoes, so it makes sense that they would make an infected organism more attractive to mosquitoes. To find out how this works, the Beijing team analyzed the body odor of infected mice and humans for molecules attractive to mosquitoes. They found that the hosts secrete extraordinarily large amounts of acetophenone, about ten times more than uninfected organisms.

The research group then investigated which genes were most heavily suppressed in the infected cells. They found the Retnla gene, which was highly suppressed in skin cells. This gene produces the RELMα protein (resistin α-like molecule) in mice and the closely related RETN protein in humans.

Scientists have shown that RELMα is less abundant in infected mice, but presumably the same is true for RETN in humans. In experiments with bacterial cultures, both molecules suppressed the growth of several skin bacteria. In contrast, acetophenone-producing organisms preferentially colonized the skin of infected mice.

Experts conclude that viruses manipulate the skin microbiome of their victims to spread more effectively. However, the effect can be counteracted with the help of a substance that causes Retnla to produce more antibacterial protein. The team gave isotretinoin to infected mice and found that they only attracted mosquitoes to the same extent as uninfected animals. This means that the spread of the virus can be reduced. However, isotretinoin is not effective against the virus itself: treated animals were just as sick as untreated mice.

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