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Mosquito Immunity

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Invertebrate Immunity

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 708))

Abstract

Throughout their lifetime, mosquitoes are exposed to pathogens during feeding, through breaks in their cuticle and following pathogen-driven cuticular degradation. to resist infection, mosquitoes mount innate cellular and humoral immune responses that are elicited within minutes of exposure and can lead to pathogen death via three broadly defined mechanisms: lysis, melanization and hemocyte-mediated phagocytosis. This chapter reviews our current understanding of the mosquito immune system, with an emphasis on the physical barriers that prevent pathogens from entering the body, the organs and tissues that regulate immune responses and the mechanistic and molecular bases of immunity.

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  1. Department of Biological Sciences and Institute for Global Health, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

    Julián F. Hillyer

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  1. Department of Comparative Physiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

    Kenneth Söderhäll

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Hillyer, J.F. (2010). Mosquito Immunity. In: Söderhäll, K. (eds) Invertebrate Immunity. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 708. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8059-5_12

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