Anti-inflammatory activities of Aedes aegypti cecropins and their protection against murine endotoxin shock

BACKGROUND: Mosquitoes are armed with physiologically active compounds to suppress the host immunity including host inflammatory reaction. However, the specific anti-inflammatory components in mosquitoes remain unknown. RESULTS: By searching for the immunomodulatory molecules from the mosquito Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) at NCBI for anti-inflammatory function, five cecropins (for short in this study: AeaeCec1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) were selected. AeaeCec1-5 efficiently inhibited the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), nitrite, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated mouse peritoneal macrophages and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with low toxicity to mammalian cells. Among the five analogues, AeaeCec5 had the strongest anti-inflammatory activity, and generated an additive effect with other AeaeCec peptides. In a mouse model of endotoxin shock, AeaeCec1-5 effectively reduced TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 expression in lungs, serum and peritoneal lavage and correspondingly reduced lung damage and edema, with AeaeCec5 showing the best protection. In mice infected with Escherichia coli or Pseudomonas aeruginosa, administration of AeaeCec5 reduced the production of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 and correspondingly reduced lung tissue damage. These effects of Ae. aegypti AeaeCec1-5 were attributed to an efficient inhibition of the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and transcriptional nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathways, as well as partial neutralization of LPS. CONCLUSIONS: The current work characterized the specific anti-inflammatory agents in Ae. aegypti and provided AeaeCec5 as a potent anti-endotoxin peptide that could serve as the basis for the development of anti-inflammatory therapy. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-018-3000-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.