1. Ex vivo characterization of the circulating hemocytes of bed bugs and their responses to bacterial exposure
- Author
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Rashaun Potts, Jonas G. King, and Jose E. Pietri
- Subjects
Male ,0106 biological sciences ,0301 basic medicine ,Bedbugs ,Cell type ,Hemocytes ,Cellular differentiation ,01 natural sciences ,Article ,Transcriptome ,03 medical and health sciences ,Immune system ,Bed bug ,Cimicidae ,Escherichia coli ,Animals ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Microscopy ,biology ,Sequence Analysis, RNA ,Effector ,Flow Cytometry ,biology.organism_classification ,Cell biology ,010602 entomology ,030104 developmental biology ,Female ,Cimex lectularius - Abstract
Bed bugs (Cimex spp.) are urban pests of global importance. Knowledge of the immune system of bed bugs has implications for understanding their susceptibility to biological control agents, their potential to transmit human pathogens, and the basic comparative immunology of insects. Nonetheless, the immunological repertoire of the family Cimicidae remains poorly characterized. Here, we use microscopy, flow cytometry, and RNA sequencing to provide a basal characterization of the circulating hemocytes of the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius. We also examine the responses of these specialized cells to E. coli exposure using the same techniques. Our results show that circulating hemocytes are comprised of at least four morphologically distinct cell types that are capable of phagocytosis, undergo degranulation, and exhibit additional markers of activation following stimulation, including size shift and DNA replication. Furthermore, transcriptomic profiling reveals expression of predicted Toll/IMD signaling pathway components, antimicrobial effectors and other potentially immunoresponsive genes in these cells. Together, our data demonstrate the conservation of several canonical cellular immune responses in the common bed bug and provide a foundation for additional mechanistic immunological studies with specific pathogens of interest. more...
- Published
- 2020
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