{
  "abstract": "The interactions between innate immune responses in mammals and insects on vector-borne disease transmission are poorly understood. This study reveals that host-derived tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) binds to the mosquito receptor Wengen (Wgn), promoting the transmission of both rodent and human malaria. This TNF-α/Wgn signaling acts through mosquito TNF receptor-associated factor 3 (mTRAF3), which inhibits mosquito immune deficiency (IMD) pathway-related molecules by targeting transforming growth factor-β-activated kinase 1 (mTAK1), leading to decreased thioester-containing protein 1 (TEP1) production and increased parasite infection in mosquitoes. Additionally, neutralizing host-derived TNF-α by an anti-TNF-α antibody prevents experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) and enhances the effectiveness of an anti-Pfs25 antibody in blocking transmission. Our findings uncover a novel strategy by which host-derived TNF-α can be utilized by the parasite to facilitate its transmission, offering new avenues for preventing cerebral malaria and reducing malaria transmission.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Pathogenic Biology, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing, China",
    "Key Laboratory of Extreme Environmental Medicine, Ministry of Education of China, Chongqing, China"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 11,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Meilin Li",
      "orcid": "0009-0005-5253-5562"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Biao He",
      "orcid": "0009-0008-6371-6782"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jian Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yongling Fan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jianyong Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Feng Zhu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shuai Guo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Taoli Zhou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yuanli Gao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Taiping Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Wenyue Xu",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3681-5052"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dv4j3s0vd64ad.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s44319-026-00929-8",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13743784/",
  "id": "dv4j3s0vd64ad",
  "issns": [
    "1469-221X",
    "1469-3178"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s44319-026-00929-8",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2739|Malaria Research and Control"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214800460",
  "pdf_url": "https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1038/s44319-026-00929-8.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13743784",
  "pmid": "42811170",
  "published": "2026-09-29",
  "publisher": "Nature Publishing Group",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dv4j3s0vd64ad.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-11T12:21:26Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13743784",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s44319-026-00929-8"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2739|Malaria Research and Control",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Cross-species TNF-α signaling in mosquitoes promotes malaria transmission",
  "title_text": "Cross-species TNF-α signaling in mosquitoes promotes malaria transmission",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-11T12:21:26Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dv4j3s0vd64ad",
  "venue": "EMBO Reports",
  "versions": []
}