AEDES-AEGYPTI LIPOPHORIN

The purified lipophorin of Aedes aegypti (Diptera) is composed of two apolipoproteins: apolipophorin I(M(r) = 224,000) and apolipophorin II (M(r) = 73,000). The density of lipophorin is constant during the Aedes life-cycle and equal to 1.11 +/- 0.01 g/ml. The amount of lipophorin per animal, during the gonotrophic cycles, increases until 48 hr after blood-feeding and then decreases until there is a new blood intake. The density values and quantification of lipophorin during Aedes aegypti gonotrophic cycle suggest that the adaptation to a higher lipid transport demand during oogenesis in Aedes aegypti is accomplished by increasing the amount of lipophorin in the hemolymph. This response is different from that observed in Musca domestica (Diptera) that does not involve changes in hemolymph lipophorin levels.