A team of researchers from the University of Chile studies the interaction of the Aedes aegypti mosquito with the Wolbachia pipientis bacteria, which would provide resistance against infection caused by the dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever viruses, reducing their transmission to humans.
The project, led by Dr. Ziomara Gerdtzen, an academic from the Department of Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology and Materials, allows us to glimpse a solution against these tropical diseases that are projected to increase in our country due to climate change.
As reported by the Ministry of Health, so far in 2024, more than 3.5 million cases of dengue have been recorded. In our country, 179 cases have been detected, 135 of which are in continental Chile.
According to scientific knowledge, dengue is a viral disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. The consequences of contracting it from its bite can range from minor flu-like discomfort, enlarged lymph nodes, pain behind the eyeballs, to a severe hemorrhagic disease, even causing death.
The investigation
The Wolbachia project is led by Dr. Ziomara Gerdtzen and involves academics and researchers from the Department of Engineering, Chemistry, Biology and Materials (DIQBM) and the Center for Biotechnology and Bioengineering (CeBiB) of the University of Chile.
The initiative, which began in 2016, studies the interaction that occurs between the cells of the Aedes aegypti mosquito and Wolbachia, an endosymbiont intracellular bacteria (incapable of living without interaction with its host), using a mathematical model on a genomic scale.
Natalia Jiménez, PhD. in Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology from the University of Chile and one of the researchers participating in the project, explains that “it has been observed that mosquitoes, like the one that spreads dengue, when infected by the Wolbachia bacteria present a pathogenic block, that is, a resistance against infection with viruses such as dengue, Zika, yellow fever and others.”
“This is why one of the strategies to control the spread of these diseases has been to release mosquitoes infected with this endosymbiont bacteria into the environment,” he adds.
How is it done?
The methodology used allows for computational simulations of the mosquito and the bacteria, in order to observe the interactions between their metabolic networks.
“Through this process, we seek to identify possible points of metabolic control that may be of interest for the engineering of these organisms, in order to replicate the resistance conditions observed with the presence of the bacteria and thus reduce the spread of the virus that it carries out.” the mosquito,” explains Ziomara Gerdtzen.
The researchers add that, although the mechanisms that give this protective capacity to the Aedes aegypti mosquito to avoid becoming infected with the virus are not yet fully known, the work developed at the University of Chile uses an approach based on systems biology to understand the potential points of interaction at the metabolic level between the Wolbachia pipientis bacteria and its host (the mosquito), which opens a possibility of controlling the virus and its spread in humans.
Our country previously had environmental barriers that protected the population from these tropical diseases. However, today climate change has allowed this mosquito to colonize and reproduce in areas where it could not do so before, such as our country.
Research has allowed progress in the identification and understanding of the mechanisms involved in resistance to arboviruses, expanding the possibilities to combat the transmission of these diseases in Chile and the world.
The research, led by Dr. Ziomara Gerdtzen, also has the participation of researchers Natalia Jiménez, Sebastián Mejías, J. Cristian Salgado and Carlos Conca.
Source: University of Chile.
