Cross-reactivity between antigens from Amblyomma cajennense and A. hebraeum (Acari : Ixodidae)

Abstract

Laboratory animals exposed to feeding ticks develop resistance which is reflected by a decline in tick engorgement weight, egg-laying by adults and reduced egg viability. Serum antibodies from these hosts and their reaction with tick antigens have been detected by different methods, including precipitation techniques, immunofluorescent techniques, ELISA and Western blots. However, little is known about the effects of antibodies on ticks that engorge on resistant hosts, or which tissues of the tick body are possibly immunogenic. Some researchers, using immunohistochemistry, have detected host antibodies in the gut, salivary glands and haemolymph of ticks engorged on resistant animals. The same technique has helped considerably in determining antigenic sites or antibody targets in other arthropods. Consequently, immunohistochemistry techniques were used in this study to detect cross-reactivity between sera raised against Amblyomma cajennense (Fabricius, 1787) with Amblyomma hebraeum (Koch, 1844), and vice versa. The results show the existence of shared antigens between the 2 tick species. In general, our results point more to a 1-way cross-reactivity of A. hebraeum with A. cajennense than a reciprocal crossreactivity, suggesting that A. hebraeum is more immunogenic than A. <em>cajennense</em>

Secretory process of salivary glands of female Amblyomma cajennense (Acari: Ixodidae) ticks fed on resistant rabbits

“…According to Brown (1986), A. americanum ticks induced resistance in rabbits in the first infestation. Besides that, other studies show that rabbits inoculated with salivary gland extracts of A. cajennense would develop skin hypersensitivity (Hlatshwayo et al 2004), which is related to the resistance level acquired by the hosts (Willadsen et al 1978).…”

Inhibition of the classical pathway of the complement system by saliva of Amblyomma cajennense (Acari: Ixodidae)

“…Taken together, these results suggest that the inhibition of the classical pathway in the intestine of Amblyomma ticks could have an important role in midgut protection during and after blood ingestion. As showed by Hlatshwayo et al (2004), serum antibodies from rabbits exposed to A. cajennense and A. hebraeum unspecifically recognise antigens from several organs of the tick, including the midgut epithelium and basement membrane. Those antibodies may be responsible for the local activation of the classical pathway that will cause damage to the midgut epithelium and may also carry knock-on effects on other physiological processes especially blood metabolism and reproduction (Gonsioroski et al, 2012).…”

Vacina de DNA multicomponente baseada em genes codificantes de proteínas salivares de <i>Rhipicephalus microplus</i> induz imunidade cruzada contra <i>Rhipicephalus sanguineus</i>

“…Cobaias e camundongos imunizados com a proteína recombinante 64P e desafiados com os carrapatos R. sanguineus e I. ricinus apresentaram uma resposta inflamatória local exacerbada, envolvendo diversos tipos celulares (TRIMNELL et al, 2005). Outros trabalhos também evidenciam imunidade cruzada envolvendo diversas espécies de carrapatos (CANALES et al, 2009;HLATSHWAYO et al, 2004;IMAMURA et al, 2006;KONDAL, 1999;PARIZI et al, 2011;PARMAR et al, 1996;WHEELER et al, 1991). (Brandão, 2007).…”