In search of the unknown functions of honey bee apolipophorin-1
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| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Apolipophorin-1 (apolp-1), a member of the large lipid transfer protein superfamily, is primarily involved in the transport of lipids and other hydrophobic compounds. It is found in insect hemolymph as a constitutive component of lipophorin particles that act as reusable lipid shuttles between the midgut, fat body and target tissues. In our research, we use uniquely developed monoclonal antibodies targeting apolp-1. Using them for semi-quantitative western blotting, we observed an intriguing statistically significant negative correlation in hemolymph levels between apolp-1 and vitellogenin, another large and multifunctional hemolymph protein. Through bioinformatic analysis, we uncovered shared domains between these proteins and, based on this, investigated the potential immune function of apolp-1. The antibodies were also used for preliminary tissue localization screens using confocal microscopy and for immunoprecipitation experiments. The aim of the former was to confirm the specificity of the antibodies and to discover physical interactors of apolp-1. This research is supported by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, project QL24010241. We also acknowledge the CEITEC Proteomics Core Facility of CIISB, Instruct-CZ Centre, supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, project LM2023042. |
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