Transcriptional profiling of the murine cutaneous response during initial and subsequent infestations with Ixodes scapularis nymphs.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Ixodes scapularis ticks are hematophagous arthropods capable of transmitting many infectious agents to humans. The process of blood feeding is an extended and continuous interplay between tick and host responses. While this process has been studied extensively in vitro, no global understanding of the host response to ticks has emerged.

Methods

To address this issue, we used PCR-arrays to measure skin-specific expression of 233 discrete genes at 8 time points during primary and secondary infestations of mice with pathogen-free I. scapularis nymphs. Selected results were then validated at the mRNA and protein levels by additional real-time PCR and bioplex assay.

Results

Primary infestation was characterized by the late induction of an innate immune response.

SUBMITTER: Heinze DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3293053 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature