A novel protein produced by the vitellogenic fat body and accumulated in mosquito oocytes

Summary The fat body of vitellogenic mosquitoes was found to synthesize and secrete another protein in addition to vitellogenin, that accumulated in developing oocytes. In the tissues, this protein has M_r = 53000 on SDS-PAGE under reducing or non-reducing conditions. This protein is glycosylated as shown by ³H]mannose incorporation and experiments with tunicamycin. Polyclonal antibodies were produced using the ovarian 53-kDa peptide. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated the immunological identity of 53 kDa peptides from the fat body and the ovary. Furthermore, the 53-kDa protein (53KP) is synthesized and secreted exclusively by the vitellogenic fat body. Radioimmunoassay showed that 53KP is produced by the female fat body as early as 4 h and reaches its peak near 24 h after the initiation of vitellogenesis. Synthesis then drops to low levels by 36 h and declines to background levels by 48 h. In vitro experiments conducted on fat bodies of previtellogenic females demonstrated that the synthesis and secretion of 53KP can be stimulated by a physiological dose of 20-hydroxyecdysone (10^–6 M). Immunocytochemical studies of the ovary demonstrate that 53KP is present in channels between follicle cells, in the perioocytic space and in yolk granules of the developing oocytes. This suggests that 53KP is accumulated in the oocytes by a pathway similar to that of vitellogenin.