Characterization of the target of ivermectin, the glutamate-gated chloride channel, from Anopheles gambiae

The use of insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual insecticides targeting adult mosquito vectors is a key element in malaria control programs. However, mosquito resistance to the insecticides used in these applications threatens malaria control efforts. Recently, the mass drug administration of ivermectin (IVM) has been shown to kill Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes and disrupt Plasmodium falciparum transmission in the field. We cloned the molecular target of IVM from A. gambiae, the glutamate-gated chloride channel (AgGluCl), and characterized its transcriptional patterns, protein expression and functional responses to glutamate and IVM. AgGluCl cloning revealed an unpredicted fourth splice isoform as well as a novel exon and splice site. The predicted gene products contained heterogeneity in the N-terminal extracellular domain and the intracellular loop region. Responses to glutamate and IVM were measured using two-electrode voltage clamp on Xenopus laevis oocytes expressing AgGluCl. IVM induced non-persistent currents in AgGluCl-a1 and did not potentiate glutamate responses. In contrast, AgGluCl-b was insensitive to IVM, suggesting that the AgGluCl gene could produce IVM-sensitive and -insensitive homomultimers from alternative splicing. AgGluCl isoform-specific transcripts were measured across tissues, ages, blood feeding status and sex, and were found to be differentially transcribed across these physiological variables. Lastly, we stained adult, female A. gambiae for GluCl expression. The channel was expressed in the antenna, Johnston's organ, supraesophageal ganglion and thoracic ganglia. In summary, we have characterized the first GluCl from a mosquito, A. gambiae, and described its unique activity and expression with respect to it as the target of the insecticide IVM.