Insects, like all invertebrates, express robust innate, but not adaptive, immune reactions to infection and invasion. Insect immunity is usually resolved into three major components. The integument serves as a physical barrier to infections. Within the hemocoel, the circulating hemocytes are the temporal first line of defense, responsible for clearing the majority of infecting bacterial cells from circulation. Specific cellular defenses include phagocytosis, microaggregation of hemocytes with adhering bacteria, nodulation and encapsulation. Infections also stimulate the humoral component of immunity, which involves the induced expression of genes encoding antimicrobial peptides and activation of prophenoloxidase. These peptides appear in the hemolymph of challenged insects 6-12 hours after the challenge. @entity2918 and other @entity1813 are crucial mediators of innate immune responses. @entity9610 biosynthesis is stimulated by infection in insects. Inhibition of @entity9610 biosynthesis lethally renders experimental insects unable to clear bacterial infection from hemolymph. Eicosanoids mediate specific cell actions, including phagocytosis, microaggregation, nodulation, hemocyte migration, hemocyte spreading and the release of prophenoloxidase from oenocytoids. Some invaders have evolved mechanisms to suppress insect immunity; a few of them suppress immunity by targeting the first step in the @entity9610 biosynthesis pathways, the enzyme @entity35169   . We proposed research designed to cripple insect immunity as a technology to improve biological control of insects. We used dsRNA to silence insect genes encoding @entity35169   , and thereby inhibited the nodulation reaction to infection. The purpose of this article is to place our view of applying dsRNA technologies into the context of @entity9610 actions in insect immunity. The long-term significance of research in this area lies in developing new pest management technologies to contribute to food security in a world with a rapidly growing @entity1 population.

XXXX : Exploiting Insect Immunity to Improve Biological Control Programs.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['human'] @entity9610 :: ('CHEBI:23899', 'Chemical') :: ['eicosanoid', 'Eicosanoid'] @entity2918 :: ('MESH:D011453', 'Chemical') :: ['Prostaglandins'] @entity1813 :: ('MESH:D015777', 'Chemical') :: ['eicosanoids'] @entity35169 :: ('57110', 'Gene') :: ['phospholipase A']
@entity1813 :: (MESH:D015777,Chemical) :: ['Eicosanoids']
