| Abstract |
Mosquitoes are a problem in temperate and tropical zones of the world. The
adult female requires vertebrate blood for her eggs to develop and seeks a
host soon after emergence. During the blood meal, a variety of human and
animal pathogens may be exchanged between host and mosquito, including
viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and filarial worms. Unfortunately, the
relationship between vector and pathogen is in most cases poorly
understood because of a lack of suitable in vitro culture systems. We use
mosquito cells to study the metabolic characteristics of these
invertebrates at the cellular level and their relationship with
mosquitoborne protozoan parasites. We are working mainly with two cell
lines: one, ASE-IV, isolated by us from a vector of malaria, Anopheles
stephensi the other, TAE-12V, isolated from a nonbiting mosquito,
Toxorhynchites amboinensis.
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