Zika Virus Infection Results in Biochemical Changes Associated With RNA Editing, Inflammatory and Antiviral Responses in Aedes albopictus

Rapid and significant range expansion of both the Zika virus (ZIKV) and its Aedes vector species has resulted in the declaration of ZIKV as a global health threat. Successful transmission of ZIKV by its vector requires a complex series of interactions between these entities including the establishment, replication and dissemination of the virus within the mosquito. The metabolic conditions within the mosquito tissues play a critical role in mediating the crucial processes of viral infection and replication and represent targets for prevention of virus transmission. In this study, we carried out a comprehensive metabolomic phenotyping of ZIKV infected and uninfected Ae. albopictus by untargeted analysis of primary metabolites, lipids and biogenic amines. We performed a comparative metabolomic study of infection state with the aim of understanding the biochemical changes resulting from the interaction between the ZIKV and its vector. We have demonstrated that ZIKV infection results in changes to the cellular metabolic environment including a significant enrichment of inosine and pseudo-uridine (Ψ) levels which may be associated with RNA editing activity. In addition, infected mosquitoes demonstrate a hypoglycemic phenotype and show significant increases in the abundance of metabolites such as prostaglandin H2, leukotriene D4 and protoporphyrinogen IX which are associated with antiviral activity. These provide a basis for understanding the biochemical response to ZIKV infection and pathology in the vector. Future mechanistic studies targeting these ZIKV infection responsive metabolites and their associated biosynthetic pathways can provide inroads to identification of mosquito antiviral responses with infection blocking potential.