A Role for the Insulin Receptor in the Suppression of Dengue Virus and Zika Virus in Wolbachia-Infected Mosquito Cells (Cell Reports)

Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes are deployed in tropical regions to combat arbovirus transmission. However, the mechanism of superinfection blocking is unknown. Haqshenas et al. show that Wolbachia downregulates the mosquito`s insulin receptor. Knockdown or inhibition of the mosquito`s insulin receptor recapitulates the block of viral infection caused by Wolbachia.