Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Immunology and Infectious Disease
Recent Advances In Understanding Tick And Rickettsiae Interactions, Shahid Karim, Deepak Kumar, Khemraj Budachetri
Recent Advances In Understanding Tick And Rickettsiae Interactions, Shahid Karim, Deepak Kumar, Khemraj Budachetri
Faculty Publications
Ticks are haematophagous arthropods with unique molecular mechanisms for digesting host blood meal while acting as vectors for various pathogens of public health significance. The tick's pharmacologically active saliva plays a fundamental role in modulating the host's immune system for several days to weeks, depending on the tick species. The vector tick has also developed sophisticated molecular mechanisms to serve as a competent vector for pathogens, including the spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae. Evidence is still inadequate concerning tick–rickettsiae–host interactions and saliva-assisted transmission of the pathogen to the mammalian host. Rickettsia parkeri, of the SFG rickettsia, can cause a …
Biology And Molecular Biology Of Ixodes Scapularis, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Ladislav Šimo, Justin D. Radolf (Ed.), D. Scott Samuels (Ed.)
Biology And Molecular Biology Of Ixodes Scapularis, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Ladislav Šimo, Justin D. Radolf (Ed.), D. Scott Samuels (Ed.)
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
This chapter describes the biology of the tick Ixodes scapularis in relation to its role as the vector of the Lyme disease agent, Borrelia burgdorferi. Following a review of the internal anatomy of the tick, we review basic molecular processes that contribute to an understanding of the dynamics of the tick's specialized parasitic processes, including attachment behavior, salivation; silencing of host anti-inflammatory responses to enable blood ingestion at the dermal feeding site; hemoglobin digestion and reproduction. The chapter is divided into three parts: 1) systematic and anatomical characteristics of ticks; 2) host finding, attachment, salivary disruption of host defenses, blood …