Dataset Information

Tick host range adaptation: changes in protein profiles in Ixodes scapularis and Amblyomma americanum saliva during stimulation to feed on different hosts

ABSTRACT: Understanding the molecular basis of how the tick adapts to feed on different animal hosts is central to understanding tick and tick-borne disease (TBD) epidemiology. Tick adaptation to feed on vertebrate hosts is regulated by tick secretion of multiple tick saliva proteins (TSPs) and other molecules that regulate tick feeding. This study was initiated to determine if ticks such as Ixodes scapularis and Amblyomma americanum that are adapted to feed on multiple hosts utilized the same sets of proteins to accomplish feeding on all hosts. Our data suggest that ticks of the same species differentially express proteins when feeding on diffent hosts. SDS-PAGE and silver staining analysis revealed unique protein eletrophoretic profile in saliva of Ixodes scapularis and Amblyomma americanum that were stimulated to start feeding on different hosts: rabbits, humans, and dogs. LC-MS/MS sequencing and pairwise analysis of proteins in saliva of I. scapularis and A. americanum ticks that were non-stimulated and those that were stimulated to feed on rabbits, dogs, or humans identified TSPs that were unique to each treatment and those that were common. Overal, we identified a total of 276 and 340 non-redundant I. scapularis and A. americanum TSPs, which we have classified into 28 functional classes that include secreted conserved proteins (unknown functions), proteinase inhibitors, lipocalins, extracellular matrix/cell adhesion, heme/iron metabolism, signal transduction and immunity-related proteins being the most predominant in saliva of unfed ticks. With exception of Rhipicephalus microplus, anti-tick vaccine research relies on feeding lab animals. Data here suggest that lab animal data could result in prioritizing irrelevant targets as some tick genes are unique to ticks fed on lab animals. This study provides the platform that could be utilized to identify relevant target anti-tick vaccine antigens, and will facilitate early stage tick feeding research.

INSTRUMENT(S): Q Exactive

ORGANISM(S): Ixodes Scapularis (black-legged Tick) (deer Tick) Amblyomma Americanum

TISSUE(S): Saliva

SUBMITTER: Albert Mulenga

LAB HEAD: Albert Mulenga

PROVIDER: PXD007712 | Pride | 2022-02-28

REPOSITORIES: Pride

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Publications

Tick-Host Range Adaptation: Changes in Protein Profiles in Unfed Adult Ixodes scapularis and Amblyomma americanum Saliva Stimulated to Feed on Different Hosts.

Tirloni Lucas L Kim Tae K TK Pinto Antônio F M AFM Yates John R JR da Silva Vaz Itabajara I Mulenga Albert A

Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology 20171219

Understanding the molecular basis of how ticks adapt to feed on different animal hosts is central to understanding tick and tick-borne disease (TBD) epidemiology. There is evidence that ticks differentially express specific sets of genes when stimulated to start feeding. This study was initiated to investigate if ticks such as Ixodes scapularis and Amblyomma americanum that are adapted to feed on multiple hosts utilized the same sets of proteins to prepare for feeding. We exposed < ...[more]

PMID: 29312895

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Project description:Tick saliva contains many bioactive molecules that are involved in attachment to the host, blood feeding and transmission of pathogens. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of short non-coding RNAs with a length of 19-24 nucleotides. They act as regulators of gene expression by binding to their target mRNA at the post-transcriptional level and control a variety of cellular functions, including regulation of growth, metabolism, and development. The detection and characterizations of miRNAs from tick saliva may help explain the molecular mechanisms involved in the interaction between ticks, pathogens, and hosts. They may also contribute to the discovery of vaccines, which can control ticks and the pathogens they transmit. An RNA library was generated from the saliva of fed adult Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks, and it contained 17.4 million clean reads of 18-30 nucleotides. Overall, 319 known miRNAs and 1 novel miRNA were found. The 10 most abundantly expressed miRNAs present in tick saliva were miR-100_2, miR-315, miR-184_1, miR-100-5p_2, miR-5307, miR-184-3p_3, Let-7-5p_6, miR-71_5, miR-1-3p_6, and miR-10-5p_2. The miR-375, one of the abundantly expressed, was subjected to Quantitative Real-Time PCR analysis (qRT-PCR) in various tick developmental stages, as well as in different tissues isolated from adult ticks. The expression of miR-375 in different tick development stages was highest in unfed nymphs and lowest in the egg stage. In the tissues of adult ticks, miR-375 was most highly expressed in the salivary gland. To investigate the possible role of miR-375, Ant-375 was used to inhibit the miR-375. Treated group (Ant-375) had a reduced number of eggs (t(10)= 2.652, P=0.0242), eggs that were partially desiccated, and reduced egg hatchability (t(10)=2.272, P=0.044) compared to Ms-Ant and the non-injected control. This is the first study to investigate the miRNAs profile in tick saliva and the role of miR-375 in H. longicornis. The identification and characterization of miRNA in tick saliva may help to reveal the molecular mechanisms of interactions among ticks, pathogens, and hosts and suggest new vaccine strategies to control tick borne diseases.

Project description:Ticks are blood feeding arthropod ectoparasites that transmit pathogens, which cause diseases in humans and animals worldwide. In the past ten decades, the continuous human exploitation of environmental resources and the increase in human outdoor activities has promoted contact with arthropod vectors normally present in the wild, resulting in increased transmission of vector-borne pathogens. In addition, vector populations are expanding in response to climate change and human interventions that impact reservoir host movement and human exposure to infected vectors. Among these emerging vector-borne pathogens, Anaplasma phagocytophilum (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae) has become an important tick-borne pathogen in the United States, Europe and Asia, with increasing numbers of infected people and animals every year. Diseases caused by A. phagocytophilum include human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), equine and canine granulocytic anaplasmosis and tick-borne fever (TBF) in ruminants. The natural infection cycle of A. phagocytophilum is dependent upon the presence of infected vertebrate reservoir hosts and Ixodid tick vectors. In the United States and Europe the main vector species are Ixodes scapularis, Ixodes pacificus, and Ixodes ricinus, while a wide range of mammals, lizards, and birds serve as reservoir hosts for various A. phagocytophilum genotypes. A. phagocytophilum initially infects tick midgut cells and then subsequently develops in salivary glands for transmission to susceptible hosts during tick feeding where the pathogen infects granulocytic cells, primarily neutrophils. Anaplasma phagocytophilum develops within membrane-bound inclusions in the host cell cytoplasm. This pathogen has evolved with its tick and vertebrate hosts through dynamic processes involving genetic traits of the pathogen and hosts that collectively mediate pathogen infection, development, persistence, and survival. However, the mechanisms used by A. phagocytophilum for molecular mechanisms involved in tick-pathogen interactions have not been fully characterized. The objective of this study is to characterize the dynamics of the microRNA response in the tick vector Ixodes scapularis in response to A. phagocytophilum infection. To address this objective, the composition of tick microRNAs was characterize using RNA sequencing in I. scapularis tick cells in response to A. phagocytophilum infection. The discovery of these mechanisms provides evidence that a control strategy could be developed targeted at both vertebrate and tick hosts for more complete control of A. phagocytophilum and its associated diseases.

Dataset Information

Tick host range adaptation: changes in protein profiles in Ixodes scapularis and Amblyomma americanum saliva during stimulation to feed on different hosts

Publications

Tick-Host Range Adaptation: Changes in Protein Profiles in Unfed Adult <i>Ixodes scapularis</i> and <i>Amblyomma americanum</i> Saliva Stimulated to Feed on Different Hosts.

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