Activation of the tick Toll pathway to control infection of Ixodes ricinus by the apicomplexan parasite Babesia microti.

ABSTRACT: The vector competence of blood-feeding arthropods is influenced by the interaction between pathogens and the immune system of the vector. The Toll and IMD (immune deficiency) signaling pathways play a key role in the regulation of innate immunity in both the Drosophila model and blood-feeding insects. However, in ticks (chelicerates), immune determination for pathogen acquisition and transmission has not yet been fully explored. Here, we have mapped homologs of insect Toll and IMD pathways in the European tick Ixodes ricinus, an important vector of human and animal diseases. We show that most genes of the Toll pathway are well conserved, whereas the IMD pathway has been greatly reduced. We therefore investigated the functions of the individual components of the tick Toll pathway and found

SUBMITTER: Jalovecka M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11649134 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature