Reptile Host Associations of Ixodes scapularis in Florida and Implications for Borrelia spp. Ecology.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: De Jesus C
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8400089 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BACKGROUND: Blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis are vectors of the tick-borne pathogens Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti. Recently, the I. scapularis-borne bacterium Borrelia miyamotoi has been linked to human illness in North America. The range of this tick is expanding in Canada which may increase the potential for human exposure to these agents. METHODS: In this study, 4938 I. scapularis ticks collected in 2012 were tested following a newly developed PCR-based testing protocol to determine the prevalence of infection with B. miyamotoi and other pathogens in I. scapularis in Canada. RESULTS: Borrelia miyamotoi was detected in blacklegged ticks from all provinces except Newfoundland, although the infection prevalence was low (<1%). There was significant variation among provinces in the prevalence of infection of ticks with B. burgdorferi and A. phagocytophilum, but not with B. miyamotoi. CONCLUSIONS: Given the widespread distribution of B. miyamotoi, infection due to this agent should be considered in patients who have been exposed to blacklegged ticks in Canada.
| S-EPMC4001108 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Vector-borne microbes necessarily co-occur with their hosts and vectors, but the degree to which they share common evolutionary or biogeographic histories remains unexplored. We examine the congruity of the evolutionary and biogeographic histories of the bacterium and vector of the Lyme disease system, the most prevalent vector-borne disease in North America. In the eastern and midwestern US, Ixodes scapularis ticks are the primary vectors of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. Our phylogeographic and demographic analyses of the 16S mitochondrial rDNA suggest that northern I. scapularis populations originated from very few migrants from the southeastern US that expanded rapidly in the Northeast and subsequently in the Midwest after the recession of the Pleistocene ice sheets. Despite this historical gene flow, current tick migration is restricted even between proximal sites within regions. In contrast, B. burgdorferi suffers no barriers to gene flow within the northeastern and midwestern regions but shows clear interregional migration barriers. Despite the intimate association of B. burgdorferi and I. scapularis, the population structure, evolutionary history, and historical biogeography of the pathogen are all contrary to its arthropod vector. In the case of Lyme disease, movements of infected vertebrate hosts may play a larger role in the contemporary expansion and homogenization of the pathogen than the movement of tick vectors whose populations continue to bear the historical signature of climate-induced range shifts.
| S-EPMC2919648 | biostudies-other
Project description:Outer surface protein C (OspC) is a differentially expressed major surface lipoprotein of Borrelia burgdorferi. ospC is swiftly upregulated when spirochetes leave the Ixodes scapularis tick gut, migrate to the salivary gland, and exit the arthropod vector. Here we show that OspC strongly binds to the tick salivary gland, suggesting a role for OspC in spirochete adherence to this tissue. In vivo studies using a murine model of Lyme borreliosis showed that while OspC F(ab)(2) fragments did not influence either the viability of spirochetes or ospC gene expression, they did interfere with B. burgdorferi invasion of tick salivary glands. We then generated ospC knockout spirochetes in an infectious clone of B. burgdorferi and examined them within the vector. OspC-deficient or wild-type spirochetes persisted equally within the gut of unfed ticks and multiplied during the tick engorgement; however, unlike wild-type B. burgdorferi, the mutants were unable to invade salivary glands. Salivary gland colonization of OspC-deficient spirochetes was completely restored when this mutant was complemented in trans with a plasmid harboring the wild-type ospC gene. These studies conclusively demonstrate the importance of OspC in the invasion of tick salivary glands by B. burgdorferi, a critical step in the transmission of spirochetes from the arthropod vector to the mammalian host.
| S-EPMC311436 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Introduction: 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. To address this issue, we measured 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. Results: Primary infestation was characterized by the late induction of an innate immune response. Lectin pattern recognition receptors, cytokines, and chemokines were upregulated consistent with increased neutrophil and macrophage migration. Gene ontology and pathway analyses of downregulated genes suggested inhibition of gene transcription and Th17 immunity. During the secondary infestation, additional genes were modulated suggesting a broader involvement of immune cells including CD8 and CD4 positive T lymphocytes. The cytokine response showed a mixed Th1/Th2 profile with a potential for T regulatory cell activity. Key gene ontology clusters observed during the secondary infestation were cell migration and activation. Matrix metalloproteinases were upregulated, apoptosis-related genes were differentially modulated, and immunoreceptor signaling molecules were upregulated. In contrast, transcripts related to mitogenic, WNT, Hedgehog, and stress pathways were downregulated. Conclusions: Our results support a model of tick feeding where lectin pattern recognition receptors orchestrate an innate inflammatory response during primary infestation that primes a mixed Th1/Th2 response upon secondary exposure. Tick feeding inhibits gene transcription and Th17 immunity. Salivary molecules may also inhibit upregulation of mitogenic, WNT, Hedgehog, and stress pathways and enhance the activity of T regulatory cells, production of IL-10, and suppressors of cytokine signaling molecules (SOCS). This study provides the first comprehensive transcriptional analysis of the host response at the tick bite site and suggests both a potential model of the host cutaneous response and candidate genes for further description and investigation. Ear biopsies from BALB/cJ mice infested with Ixodes scapularis nymphs were assayed at 12, 48, 72, and 96 hours after infestation during a primary and secondary exposure. 3 mice were measured at each time point. Controls were 3 similarly housed but tick-free mice.
2012-02-17 | E-GEOD-33345 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Lyme disease (LD) is one of the most important human vector-borne diseases in North America. Since transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), the causative agent of LD, is influenced by yet unknown tick saliva proteins (TSP), the discovery and characterization of such TSPs are highly sought after for their potential as tick-antigen based vaccine targets. We validated a novel non-invasive approach of collecting sufficient amounts of saliva from unfed, partially fed (12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72h), and replete fed Ixodes scapularis nymphs for identification of tick saliva proteins using the LC-MS/MS approach. Our data has described TSPs that might be injected into the host within few hours of the tick starting to feed and are likely associated with manipulating host immunity to facilitate transmitted Bb to colonize the host. Thus, these data will serve as a source for Bb-infection associated TSPs that might be targeted in tick-antigen based vaccines to prevent LD. Equally important, the non-invasive method to collect nymph tick saliva is likely to provide transformative impact on research to understand transmission of other TBD agents.
2021-09-10 | PXD023940 | Pride
Project description:Introduction: 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. To address this issue, we measured 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. Results: Primary infestation was characterized by the late induction of an innate immune response. Lectin pattern recognition receptors, cytokines, and chemokines were upregulated consistent with increased neutrophil and macrophage migration. Gene ontology and pathway analyses of downregulated genes suggested inhibition of gene transcription and Th17 immunity. During the secondary infestation, additional genes were modulated suggesting a broader involvement of immune cells including CD8 and CD4 positive T lymphocytes. The cytokine response showed a mixed Th1/Th2 profile with a potential for T regulatory cell activity. Key gene ontology clusters observed during the secondary infestation were cell migration and activation. Matrix metalloproteinases were upregulated, apoptosis-related genes were differentially modulated, and immunoreceptor signaling molecules were upregulated. In contrast, transcripts related to mitogenic, WNT, Hedgehog, and stress pathways were downregulated. Conclusions: Our results support a model of tick feeding where lectin pattern recognition receptors orchestrate an innate inflammatory response during primary infestation that primes a mixed Th1/Th2 response upon secondary exposure. Tick feeding inhibits gene transcription and Th17 immunity. Salivary molecules may also inhibit upregulation of mitogenic, WNT, Hedgehog, and stress pathways and enhance the activity of T regulatory cells, production of IL-10, and suppressors of cytokine signaling molecules (SOCS). This study provides the first comprehensive transcriptional analysis of the host response at the tick bite site and suggests both a potential model of the host cutaneous response and candidate genes for further description and investigation.
2012-02-17 | GSE33345 | GEO
Project description:BackgroundLyme disease (LD) caused by Borrelia burgdorferi is the most prevalent tick-borne disease. There is evidence that vaccines based on tick proteins that promote tick transmission of B. burgdorferi could prevent LD. As Ixodes scapularis nymph tick bites are responsible for most LD cases, this study sought to identify nymph tick saliva proteins associated with B. burgdorferi transmission using LC-MS/MS. Tick saliva was collected using a non-invasive method of stimulating ticks (uninfected and infected: unfed, and every 12 h during feeding through 72 h, and fully-fed) to salivate into 2% pilocarpine-PBS for protein identification using LC-MS/MS.ResultsWe identified a combined 747 tick saliva proteins of uninfected and B. burgdorferi infected ticks that were classified into 25 functional categories: housekeeping-like (48%), unknown function (18%), protease inhibitors (9%), immune-related (6%), proteases (8%), extracellular matrix (7%), and small categories that account for <5% each. Notably, B. burgdorferi infected ticks secreted high number of saliva proteins (n=645) than uninfected ticks (n=376). Counter-intuitively, antimicrobial peptides, which function to block bacterial infection at tick feeding site were suppressed 23-85 folds in B. burgdorferi infected ticks. Similar to glycolysis enzymes being enhanced in mammalian cells exposed to B. burgdorferi : eight of the 10-glycolysis pathway enzymes were secreted at high abundance by B. burgdorferi infected ticks. Of significance, rabbits exposed to B. burgdorferi infected ticks acquired potent immunity that caused 40-60% mortality of B. burgdorferi infected ticks during the second infestation compared to 15-28% for the uninfected. This might be explained by ELISA data that show that high expression levels of immunogenic proteins in B. burgdorferi infected ticks.ConclusionData here suggest that B. burgdorferi infection modified protein content in tick saliva to promote its survival at the tick feeding site. For instance, enzymes; copper/zinc superoxide dismutase that led to production of H2O2 that is toxic to B. burgdorferi were suppressed, while, catalase and thioredoxin that neutralize H2O2, and pyruvate kinase which yields pyruvate that protects Bb from H2O2 killing were enhanced. We conclude data here is an important resource for discovery of effective antigens for a vaccine to prevent LD.
| S-EPMC7930271 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The causative agent of Lyme borreliosis, Borrelia burgdorferi, is transmitted by Ixodes ticks. During tick feeding, B. burgdorferi migrates from the tick gut to the salivary glands from where transmission to the host occurs. B. burgdorferi-interacting tick proteins might serve as vaccine targets to thwart B. burgdorferi transmission. A previous screening for B. burgdorferi-interacting Ixodes scapularis gut proteins identified an I. scapularis putative dystroglycan protein (ISCW015049). Here, we describe the ISCW015049's protein structure and its cellular location in the tick gut in relation to B. burgdorferi migration. Secondly, in vivo B. burgdorferi-tick attachment murine models were performed to study the role of ISCW015049 during B. burgdorferi migration and transmission. In silico analysis confirmed that ISCW015049 is similar to dystroglycan and was named I. scapularis dystroglycan-like protein (ISDLP). Confocal microscopy of gut tissue showed that ISDLP is expressed on the surface of gut cells, is upregulated during tick feeding, and is expressed significantly higher in infected ticks compared to uninfected ticks. Inhibition of ISDLP by RNA interference (RNAi) resulted in lower B. burgdorferi transmission to mice. In conclusion, we have identified a dystroglycan-like protein in I. scapularis gut that can bind to B. burgdorferi and promotes B. burgdorferi migration from the tick gut. Key messages: B. burgdorferi exploits tick proteins to orchestrate its transmission to the host. B. burgdorferi is able bind to an I. scapularis dystroglycan-like protein (ISDLP). Inhibition of ISDLP in ticks results in lower B. burgdorferi transmission to mice. ISDLP is a potential target to prevent Lyme borreliosis.
| S-EPMC4803822 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Ixodes scapularis (deer ticks) from Maine were tested for multiple infections by polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence. In 1995, 29.5%, 9.5%, and 1.9% of deer ticks were infected with Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Babesia microti, respectively. In 1996 and 1997, the number of A. phagocytophilum-infected ticks markedly declined. In 1995 through 1996, 4 (1.3%) of 301 were co-infected.
| S-EPMC3323092 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The discovery of Borrelia species that were related to the agents of relapsing fever but were transmitted by hard ticks rather than soft ticks challenged previous taxonomies based largely on microbe-host specificities and geographic considerations. One of these newly-identified organisms is the Borrelia miyamotoi sensu lato strain LB-2001 from North America and transmitted by Ixodes scapularis. This or related strains have been identified as the cause of human disease, but comparatively little is known about their biology or genetics. Using recently acquired chromosome sequence of LB-2001 together with database sequences and additional sequences determined here, I carried out comparisons of the several species of Borrelia, including those in the two major clades: the relapsing fever group of species and the Lyme disease group of species. Phylogenetic inference at the species level was based on four data sets: whole chromosomes of ?1Mb each, and concatenated sequences of 19 ribosomal protein genes, 3 conserved nucleic acid enzymes (rpoC, recC, and dnaE), and 4 contiguous genes for nucleotide salvage on a large plasmid. Analyses using neighbor-joining, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian methods were largely concordant for each of the trees. They showed that LB-2001 and related hard tick-associated organisms, like Borrelia lonestari, are deeply positioned within the RF group of species and that these organisms did not, as some earlier estimations had suggested, constitute a paraphyletic group. The analyses also provided further evidence that major changes in host ranges and life cycles, such as hard to soft ticks or vice versa, may not correlate well with overall sequence differences. The genetic differences between LB-2001 and B. miyamotoi sensu stricto justify provisional use of the "sensu lato" designation for LB-2001.
| S-EPMC4182126 | biostudies-literature