Dataset Information

Tick galactosyltransferases are involved in ?-Gal synthesis and play a role during Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection and Ixodes scapularis tick vector development.

ABSTRACT: The carbohydrate Gal?1-3Gal?1-(3)4GlcNAc-R (?-Gal) is produced in all mammals except for humans, apes and old world monkeys that lost the ability to synthetize this carbohydrate. Therefore, humans can produce high antibody titers against ?-Gal. Anti-?-Gal IgE antibodies have been associated with tick-induced allergy (i.e. ?-Gal syndrome) and anti-?-Gal IgG/IgM antibodies may be involved in protection against malaria, leishmaniasis and Chagas disease. The ?-Gal on tick salivary proteins plays an important role in the etiology of the ?-Gal syndrome. However, whether ticks are able to produce endogenous ?-Gal remains currently unknown. In this study, the Ixodes scapularis genome was searched for galactosyltransferases and three genes were identified as potentially involved in the synthesis of ?-Gal. Heterologous gene expression in ?-Gal-negative cells and gene knockdown in ticks confirmed that these genes were involved in ?-Gal synthesis and are essential for tick feeding. Furthermore, these genes were shown to play an important role in tick-pathogen interactions. Results suggested that tick cells increased ?-Gal levels in response to Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection to control bacterial infection. These results provided the molecular basis of endogenous ?-Gal production in ticks and suggested that tick galactosyltransferases are involved in vector development, tick-pathogen interactions and possibly the etiology of ?-Gal syndrome in humans.

SUBMITTER: Cabezas-Cruz A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6154994 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Tick galactosyltransferases are involved in α-Gal synthesis and play a role during Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection and Ixodes scapularis tick vector development.

Cabezas-Cruz Alejandro A Espinosa Pedro J PJ Alberdi Pilar P Šimo Ladislav L Valdés James J JJ Mateos-Hernández Lourdes L Contreras Marinela M Rayo Margarita Villar MV de la Fuente José J

Scientific reports 20180921 1

The carbohydrate Galα1-3Galβ1-(3)4GlcNAc-R (α-Gal) is produced in all mammals except for humans, apes and old world monkeys that lost the ability to synthetize this carbohydrate. Therefore, humans can produce high antibody titers against α-Gal. Anti-α-Gal IgE antibodies have been associated with tick-induced allergy (i.e. α-Gal syndrome) and anti-α-Gal IgG/IgM antibodies may be involved in protection against malaria, leishmaniasis and Chagas disease. The α-Gal on tick salivary proteins plays an ...[more]

PMID: 30242261

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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 galactosyltransferases are involved in ?-Gal synthesis and play a role during Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection and Ixodes scapularis tick vector development.

Publications

Tick galactosyltransferases are involved in α-Gal synthesis and play a role during Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection and Ixodes scapularis tick vector development.

Similar Datasets

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