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Member Symposium

Blood Feeders: A New Frontier for Electropenetrography

Using electropenetrography to examine dengue virus transmission in vitro and in vivo

Sunday, November 5, 2023
3:35 PM – 3:50 PM ET
Location: Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, National Harbor 13
In-Person
Human infection with dengue virus (DENV) results in significant morbidity and mortality around the world. Behavioral changes in DENV-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are thought to contribute to the spread of this virus. Current methods to measure such changes rely on video analysis of mosquito feeding events outside of the host or on microscopic videos of biting events on thin tissues such as animal ears. To supplement these methods, AC-DC electropenetrography (EPG) was investigated to assess its potential to quantify currently unobservable in situ feeding behaviors of DENV-infected Ae. aegypti. To accomplish this, IFN-αβ receptor-deficient mice, blood-perfused 3D printed hydrogels, and DENV-2 (S-14635) were used to determine the feasibility and utility of EPG for arbovirus research. EPG recordings were made of Ae. aegypti feeding on anesthetized mice under three conditions: mosquito/mouse uninfected, DENV-infected mosquito/uninfected mouse, and uninfected mosquito/DENV-infected mouse. This experimental design was repeated with blood-perfused 3D-printed hydrogels taking the place of mice. The purpose of this talk is (1) to compare the settings needed to obtain quality EPG data under each of these setups, (2) to compare waveforms generated during probing and ingestion on mice versus those generated on the hydrogel, and (3) to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this artificial feeding system with respect to EPG.