Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

The presence of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) in insects has been reported many times, but numerous questions about the functional role of this enzyme in insects remain. Here we show by RT-PCR experiments that ACE has a wide tissue distribution in Locusta migratoria, suggesting diverse roles for this enzyme in the locust. Immune challenge through injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharides resulted in a tenfold increase of ACE gene transcripts in the hemocytes and is suggestive for a role of ACE in the cellular defense of the locust. However, phenotypic knockout experiments with the ACE inhibitor captopril showed that ACE is not essential for the efficient clearance of injected E. coli bacteria.

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Insect Physiol

Publication Date

08/2003

Volume

49

Pages

739 - 746

Keywords

Amino Acid Sequence, Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors, Animals, Captopril, Escherichia coli, Grasshoppers, Hemocytes, Lipopolysaccharides, Molecular Sequence Data, RNA, Messenger, Renin, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Sequence Alignment, Transcription, Genetic