Triglyceride-Rich Lipophorin in Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

Abstract

A lipoprotein was isolated from Aedes aegypti (L.) larvae. This lipoprotein resembled the typical lipoprotein responsible for lipid transport in insect hemolymph, also called lipophorin. The mosquito lipophorin had a hydrated density of 1.113 g/ml and contained 49% lipid and 3.2% carbohydrate. In contrast to all other insect species studied thus far, the major lipid component of the mosquito lipophorin was triacylglycerol. The native lipophorin had an apparent molecular weight of 480 kd and contained two subunits, apolipophorin I (238 kd) and apolipophorin II (73 kd), that were both glycosylated. The lipoproteins from two other mosquito species, Anopheles albimanus (Wiedemann) and Culex quinquefasciatus (Say), also were shown to be high-density lipophorins that contained triacylglycerol, as major neutral lipid.