We have discovered that the mosquito Anopheles stephensi, a natural vector of human malaria, limits parasite development with inducible synthesis of nitric oxide (NO). Elevated expression of A. stephensi NO synthase (NOS), which is highly homologous to characterized NOS genes, was detected in the midgut and carcass soon after invasion of the midgut by Plasmodium. Early induction is likely primed by bacterial growth in the blood meal. Later increases in A. stephensi NOS expression and enzyme activity occurred at the beginning of sporozoite release. Circulating levels of nitrite/nitrate, end-products of NO synthesis, were significantly higher in Plasmodium-infected mosquitoes. Dietary provision of the NOS substrate L-arginine reduced Plasmodium infections in A. stephensi. In contrast, dietary provision of a NOS inhibitor significantly increased parasite numbers in infected mosquitoes, confirming that A. stephensi limits Plasmodium development with NO.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 26 March 2018.
All research outputs
#12,356,702
of 34,400,738 outputs
Outputs from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
#83,733
of 118,992 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#20,998
of 49,161 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
#419
of 570 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 34,400,738 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 38th percentile – i.e., 38% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 118,992 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 40.1. This one is in the 13th percentile – i.e., 13% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 49,161 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 7th percentile – i.e., 7% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 570 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 2nd percentile – i.e., 2% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
