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Perez-Soria MME, López-Díaz DG, Jiménez-Ocampo R, Aguilar-Tipacamú G, Ueti MW, Mosqueda J. Immunization of cattle with a Rhipicephalus microplus chitinase peptide containing predicted B-cell epitopes reduces tick biological fitness. Parasitology 2024:1-10. [PMID: 38311342 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182024000143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Rhipicephalus microplus, the cattle fever tick, is the most important ectoparasite impacting the livestock industry worldwide. Overreliance on chemical treatments for tick control has led to the emergence of acaricide-resistant ticks and environmental contamination. An immunological strategy based on vaccines offers an alternative approach to tick control. To develop novel tick vaccines, it is crucial to identify and evaluate antigens capable of generating protection in cattle. Chitinases are enzymes that degrade older chitin at the time of moulting, therefore allowing interstadial metamorphosis. In this study, 1 R. microplus chitinase was identified and its capacity to reduce fitness in ticks fed on immunized cattle was evaluated. First, the predicted amino acid sequence was determined in 4 isolates and their similarity was analysed by bioinformatics. Four peptides containing predicted B-cell epitopes were designed. The immunogenicity of each peptide was assessed by inoculating 2 cattle, 4 times at 21 days intervals, and the antibody response was verified by indirect ELISA. A challenge experiment was conducted with those peptides that were immunogenic. The chitinase gene was successfully amplified and sequenced, enabling comparison with reference strains. Notably, a 99.32% identity and 99.84% similarity were ascertained among the sequences. Furthermore, native protein recognition was demonstrated through western blot assays. Chitinase peptide 3 reduced the weight and oviposition of engorged ticks, as well as larvae viability, exhibiting a 71% efficacy. Therefore, chitinase 3 emerges as a viable vaccine candidate, holding promise for its integration into a multiantigenic vaccine against R. microplus.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniel Gustavo López-Díaz
- Immunology and Vaccines Laboratory, College of Natural Sciences, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Queretaro, QT, Mexico
- Master's Program in Sustainable Animal Health and Production, College of Natural Sciences, Autonomous University of Queretaro, QT, Mexico
| | | | - Gabriela Aguilar-Tipacamú
- CA Salud Animal y Microbiologia Ambiental, College of Natural Sciences, Autonomous University of Queretaro, QT, Mexico
| | - Massaro W Ueti
- Animal Diseases Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Pullman, Washington, 99164, USA
| | - Juan Mosqueda
- Immunology and Vaccines Laboratory, College of Natural Sciences, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Queretaro, QT, Mexico
- CA Salud Animal y Microbiologia Ambiental, College of Natural Sciences, Autonomous University of Queretaro, QT, Mexico
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2
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Maritz-Olivier C, Ferreira M, Olivier NA, Crafford J, Stutzer C. Mining gene expression data for rational identification of novel drug targets and vaccine candidates against the cattle tick, Rhipicephalus microplus. EXPERIMENTAL & APPLIED ACAROLOGY 2023; 91:291-317. [PMID: 37755526 PMCID: PMC10562289 DOI: 10.1007/s10493-023-00838-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023]
Abstract
Control of complex parasites via vaccination remains challenging, with the current combination of vaccines and small drugs remaining the choice for an integrated control strategy. Studies conducted to date, are providing evidence that multicomponent vaccines will be needed for the development of protective vaccines against endo- and ectoparasites, though multicomponent vaccines require an in-depth understanding of parasite biology which remains insufficient for ticks. With the rapid development and spread of acaricide resistance in ticks, new targets for acaricide development also remains to be identified, along with novel targets that can be exploited for the design of lead compounds. In this study, we analysed the differential gene expression of Rhipicephalus microplus ticks that were fed on cattle vaccinated with a multi-component vaccine (Bm86 and 3 putative Bm86-binding proteins). The data was scrutinised for the identification of vaccine targets, small drug targets and novel pathways that can be evaluated in future studies. Limitations associated with targeting novel proteins for vaccine and/or drug design is also discussed and placed into the context of challenges arising when targeting large protein families and intracellular localised proteins. Lastly, this study provide insight into how Bm86-based vaccines may reduce successful uptake and digestion of the bloodmeal and overall tick fecundity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Maritz-Olivier
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
| | - Mariëtte Ferreira
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - Nicholas A Olivier
- DNA Microarray Laboratory, Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - Jan Crafford
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - Christian Stutzer
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
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Parizi LF, Githaka NW, Logullo C, Zhou J, Onuma M, Termignoni C, da Silva Vaz I. Universal Tick Vaccines: Candidates and Remaining Challenges. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:2031. [PMID: 37370541 DOI: 10.3390/ani13122031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Revised: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent advancements in molecular biology, particularly regarding massively parallel sequencing technologies, have enabled scientists to gain more insight into the physiology of ticks. While there has been progress in identifying tick proteins and the pathways they are involved in, the specificities of tick-host interaction at the molecular level are not yet fully understood. Indeed, the development of effective commercial tick vaccines has been slower than expected. While omics studies have pointed to some potential vaccine immunogens, selecting suitable antigens for a multi-antigenic vaccine is very complex due to the participation of redundant molecules in biological pathways. The expansion of ticks and their pathogens into new territories and exposure to new hosts makes it necessary to evaluate vaccine efficacy in unusual and non-domestic host species. This situation makes ticks and tick-borne diseases an increasing threat to animal and human health globally, demanding an urgent availability of vaccines against multiple tick species and their pathogens. This review discusses the challenges and advancements in the search for universal tick vaccines, including promising new antigen candidates, and indicates future directions in this crucial research field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luís Fernando Parizi
- Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 91501-970, Brazil
| | | | - Carlos Logullo
- Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-853, Brazil
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-853, Brazil
| | - Jinlin Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Misao Onuma
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan
| | - Carlos Termignoni
- Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 91501-970, Brazil
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-853, Brazil
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90040-060, Brazil
| | - Itabajara da Silva Vaz
- Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 91501-970, Brazil
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-853, Brazil
- Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 91540-000, Brazil
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Scoles GA, Hussein HE, Olds CL, Mason KL, Davis SK. Vaccination of cattle with synthetic peptides corresponding to predicted extracellular domains of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus aquaporin 2 reduced the number of ticks feeding to repletion. Parasit Vectors 2022; 15:49. [PMID: 35135602 PMCID: PMC8822678 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-022-05166-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background There have been ongoing efforts to identify anti-tick vaccine targets to protect cattle from infestation with cattle fever ticks Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus. Two commercial vaccines based on the tick gut protein Bm86 have had variable effectiveness, which has led to poor acceptance, and numerous studies have attempted to identify vaccine antigens that will provide more consistently effective protection. Transcriptomic analysis of R. microplus led to identification of three aquaporin genes annotated to code for transmembrane proteins involved in the transport of water across cell membranes. Previous work showed that vaccination with full-length recombinant aquaporin 1 (RmAQP1) reduced tick burdens on cattle. Targeted silencing of aquaporin 2 (RmAQP2) expression suggested it might also be a good anti-tick vaccination target. Methods Three synthetic peptides from the predicted extracellular domains of RmAQP2 were used to vaccinate cattle. Peptides were conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) as an antigenic carrier molecule. We monitored the antibody response with ELISA and challenged vaccinated cattle with R. microplus larvae. Results There was a 25% reduction overall in the numbers of ticks feeding to repletion on the vaccinated cattle. Immune sera from vaccinated cattle recognized native tick proteins on a western blot and reacted to the three individual synthetic peptides in an ELISA. The vaccinated calf with the highest total IgG titer was not the most effective at controlling ticks; ratios of IgG isotypes 1 and 2 differed greatly among the three vaccinated cattle; the calf with the highest IgG1/IgG2 ratio had the fewest ticks. Ticks on vaccinated cattle had significantly greater replete weights compared to ticks on controls, mirroring results seen with RNA silencing of RmAQP2. However, protein data could not confirm that vaccination had any impact on the ability of the tick to concentrate its blood meal by removing water. Conclusions A reduced number of ticks feed successfully on cattle vaccinated to produce antibodies against the extracellular domains of RmAQP2. However, our predicted mechanism, that antibody binding blocks the ability of RmAQP2 to move water out of the blood meal, could not be confirmed. Further study will be required to define the mechanism of action and to determine whether these vaccine targets will be useful components of an anti-tick vaccine cocktail. Graphical Abstract ![]()
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13071-022-05166-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Glen A Scoles
- USDA-ARS, Animal Disease Research Unit, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA. .,Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA. .,USDA-ARS, Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Lab, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, MD, USA.
| | - Hala E Hussein
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.,Department of Entomology, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
| | - Cassandra L Olds
- Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA.,Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
| | - Kathleen L Mason
- USDA-ARS, Animal Disease Research Unit, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - Sara K Davis
- USDA-ARS, Animal Disease Research Unit, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
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Pereira DFS, Ribeiro HS, Gonçalves AAM, da Silva AV, Lair DF, de Oliveira DS, Boas DFV, Conrado IDSS, Leite JC, Barata LM, Reis PCC, Mariano RMDS, Santos TAP, Coutinho DCO, Gontijo NDF, Araujo RN, Galdino AS, Paes PRDO, Melo MM, Nagem RAP, Dutra WO, Silveira-Lemos DD, Rodrigues DS, Giunchetti RC. Rhipicephalus microplus: An overview of vaccine antigens against the cattle tick. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2021; 13:101828. [PMID: 34628330 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2021.101828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Rhipicephalus microplus, popularly known as the cattle tick, is the most important tick of livestock as it is responsible for significant economic losses. The use of chemical acaricides is still the most widely used control method despite its known disadvantages. Vaccination would be a safe alternative for the control of R. microplus and holds advantages over the use of chemical acaricides as it is environmental-friendly and leaves no residues in meat or milk. Two vaccines based on the Bm86 protein were commercialized, TickGARD® and Gavac®, with varying reported efficacies in different countries. The use of other vaccines, such as Tick Vac®, Go-Tick®, and Bovimune Ixovac® have been restricted to some countries. Several other proteins have been analyzed as possible antigens for more effective vaccines against R. microplus, including peptidases, serine proteinase inhibitors, glutathione S-transferases, metalloproteases, and ribosomal proteins, with efficacies ranging from 14% to 96%. Nonetheless, more research is needed to develop safe and efficient tick vaccines, such as the evaluation of the efficacy of antigens against other tick species to verify cross-reactivity and inclusion of additional antigens to promote the blocking of the infection and spreading of tick-borne diseases. This review summarizes the discoveries of candidate antigens for R. microplus tick vaccines as well as the methods used to test their efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diogo Fonseca Soares Pereira
- Laboratory of Cell-Cell Interactions, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Helen Silva Ribeiro
- Laboratory of Cell-Cell Interactions, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Ana Alice Maia Gonçalves
- Laboratory of Cell-Cell Interactions, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Augusto Ventura da Silva
- Laboratory of Cell-Cell Interactions, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Daniel Ferreira Lair
- Laboratory of Cell-Cell Interactions, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Diana Souza de Oliveira
- Laboratory of Cell-Cell Interactions, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Diego Fernandes Vilas Boas
- Laboratory of Cell-Cell Interactions, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Ingrid Dos Santos Soares Conrado
- Laboratory of Cell-Cell Interactions, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Jaqueline Costa Leite
- Laboratory of Cell-Cell Interactions, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Luccas Miranda Barata
- Laboratory of Cell-Cell Interactions, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Pedro Campos Carvalhaes Reis
- Laboratory of Cell-Cell Interactions, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Reysla Maria da Silveira Mariano
- Laboratory of Cell-Cell Interactions, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Thaiza Aline Pereira Santos
- Laboratory of Cell-Cell Interactions, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Danielle Carvalho Oliveira Coutinho
- Laboratory of Cell-Cell Interactions, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Nelder de Figueiredo Gontijo
- Laboratory of Physiology of Hematophagous Insects, Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Nascimento Araujo
- Laboratory of Physiology of Hematophagous Insects, Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Alexsandro Sobreira Galdino
- Microbial Biotechnology Laboratory, Biochemistry, Federal University of São João Del-Rei, Divinópolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Paulo Ricardo de Oliveira Paes
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Marília Martins Melo
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Ronaldo Alves Pinto Nagem
- Structural Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of biochemistry and immunology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Walderez Ornelas Dutra
- Laboratory of Cell-Cell Interactions, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | | | | | - Rodolfo Cordeiro Giunchetti
- Laboratory of Cell-Cell Interactions, Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
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Martínez Velázquez M, Barragán Álvarez CP, Flores Fernández JM, Lagunes Quintanilla RE, Saines EC, Ramírez Rodríguez PB, Herrera Rodríguez SE, Gutiérrez RH, Ortega AG, Álvarez ÁH. Immunoprotection evaluation of the recombinant N-terminal domain of Cys-loop receptors against Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus tick infestation. Parasite 2021; 28:65. [PMID: 34533454 PMCID: PMC8447868 DOI: 10.1051/parasite/2021064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus ticks are obligatory hematophagous ectoparasites of cattle and act as vectors for disease-causing microorganisms. Conventional tick control is based on the application of chemical acaricides; however, their uncontrolled use has increased resistant tick populations, as well as food and environmental contamination. Alternative immunological tick control has shown to be partially effective. Therefore, there is a need to characterize novel antigens in order to improve immunological protection. The aim of this work was to evaluate Cys-loop receptors as vaccine candidates. N-terminal domains of a glutamate receptor and of a glycine-like receptor were recombinantly produced in Escherichia coli. Groups of BALB/c mice were independently immunized with four doses of each recombinant protein emulsified with Freund’s adjuvant. Both vaccine candidates were immunogenic in mice as demonstrated by western blot analysis. Next, recombinant proteins were independently formulated with the adjuvant Montanide ISA 50 V2 and evaluated in cattle infested with Rhipicephalus microplus tick larvae. Groups of three European crossbred calves were immunized with three doses of each adjuvanted protein. ELISA test was used to evaluate the IgG immune response elicited against the recombinant proteins. Results showed that vaccine candidates generated a moderate humoral response on vaccinated cattle. Vaccination significantly affected the number of engorged adult female ticks, having no significant effects on tick weight, egg weight and egg fertility values. Vaccine efficacies of 33% and 25% were calculated for the glutamate receptor and the glycine-like receptor, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moisés Martínez Velázquez
- Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, AC, Av. Normalistas 800, Col. Colinas de la Normal, 44270, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
| | - Carla Patricia Barragán Álvarez
- Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, AC, Av. Normalistas 800, Col. Colinas de la Normal, 44270, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
| | - José Miguel Flores Fernández
- Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, AC, Av. Normalistas 800, Col. Colinas de la Normal, 44270, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
| | - Rodolfo Esteban Lagunes Quintanilla
- Centro Nacional de Investigaciones en Parasitología Veterinaria-INIFAP, Carretera Federal Cuernavaca Cuautla 8534, Col. Progreso, 62550, Jiutepec, Morelos, México
| | - Edgar Castro Saines
- Centro Nacional de Investigaciones en Parasitología Veterinaria-INIFAP, Carretera Federal Cuernavaca Cuautla 8534, Col. Progreso, 62550, Jiutepec, Morelos, México
| | - Patricia Berenice Ramírez Rodríguez
- Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, AC, Av. Normalistas 800, Col. Colinas de la Normal, 44270, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
| | - Sara Elisa Herrera Rodríguez
- Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, AC, Av. Normalistas 800, Col. Colinas de la Normal, 44270, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
| | - Rodolfo Hernández Gutiérrez
- Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, AC, Av. Normalistas 800, Col. Colinas de la Normal, 44270, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
| | - Abel Gutiérrez Ortega
- Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, AC, Av. Normalistas 800, Col. Colinas de la Normal, 44270, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
| | - Ángel H Álvarez
- Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, AC, Av. Normalistas 800, Col. Colinas de la Normal, 44270, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
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7
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Couto J, Seixas G, Stutzer C, Olivier NA, Maritz-Olivier C, Antunes S, Domingos A. Probing the Rhipicephalusbursa Sialomes in Potential Anti-Tick Vaccine Candidates: A Reverse Vaccinology Approach. Biomedicines 2021; 9:363. [PMID: 33807386 PMCID: PMC8067113 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines9040363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Revised: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In the wake of the 'omics' explosion of data, reverse vaccinology approaches are being applied more readily as an alternative for the discovery of candidates for next generation diagnostics and vaccines. Promising protective antigens for the control of ticks and tick-borne diseases can be discovered by mining available omics data for immunogenic epitopes. The present study aims to explore the previously obtained Rhipicephalus bursa sialotranscriptome during both feeding and Babesia infection, to select antigenic targets that are either membrane-associated or a secreted protein, as well as unique to the ectoparasite and not present in the mammalian host. Further, they should be capable of stimulating T and B cells for a potential robust immune response, and be non-allergenic or toxic to the host. From the R. bursa transcriptome, 5706 and 3025 proteins were identified as belonging to the surfaceome and secretome, respectively. Following a reverse genetics immunoinformatics pipeline, nine preferred candidates, consisting of one transmembrane-related and eight secreted proteins, were identified. These candidates showed a higher predicted antigenicity than the Bm86 antigen, with no homology to mammalian hosts and exposed regions. Only four were functionally annotated and selected for further in silico analysis, which examined their protein structure, surface accessibility, flexibility, hydrophobicity, and putative linear B and T-cell epitopes. Regions with overlapping coincident epitopes groups (CEGs) were evaluated to select peptides that were further analyzed for their physicochemical characteristics, potential allergenicity, toxicity, solubility, and potential propensity for crystallization. Following these procedures, a set of three peptides from the three R. bursa proteins were selected. In silico results indicate that the designed epitopes could stimulate a protective and long-lasting immune response against those tick proteins, reflecting its potential as anti-tick vaccines. The immunogenicity of these peptides was evaluated in a pilot immunization study followed by tick feeding to evaluate its impact on tick behavior and pathogen transmission. Combining in silico methods with in vivo immunogenicity evaluation enabled the screening of vaccine candidates prior to expensive infestation studies on the definitive ovine host animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana Couto
- Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Rua da Junqueira, 100, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal; (G.S.); (A.D.)
- Global Health and Tropical Medicine, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (GHTM-IHMT-UNL), Rua da Junqueira, 100, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Gonçalo Seixas
- Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Rua da Junqueira, 100, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal; (G.S.); (A.D.)
- Global Health and Tropical Medicine, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (GHTM-IHMT-UNL), Rua da Junqueira, 100, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Christian Stutzer
- Division of Genetics, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa; (C.S.); (C.M.-O.)
| | - Nicholas A. Olivier
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa;
- Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
| | - Christine Maritz-Olivier
- Division of Genetics, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa; (C.S.); (C.M.-O.)
| | - Sandra Antunes
- Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Rua da Junqueira, 100, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal; (G.S.); (A.D.)
- Global Health and Tropical Medicine, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (GHTM-IHMT-UNL), Rua da Junqueira, 100, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Ana Domingos
- Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Rua da Junqueira, 100, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal; (G.S.); (A.D.)
- Global Health and Tropical Medicine, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (GHTM-IHMT-UNL), Rua da Junqueira, 100, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal
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8
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Vaccine approaches applied to controlling dog ticks. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2021; 12:101631. [PMID: 33494026 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Revised: 11/17/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Ticks are considered the most important vectors in veterinary medicine with a profound impact on animal health worldwide, as well as being key vectors of diseases affecting household pets. The leading strategy applied to dog tick control is the continued use of acaricides. However, this approach is not sustainable due to surging tick resistance, growing public concern over pesticide residues in food and in the environment, and the rising costs associated with their development. In contrast, tick vaccines are a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative against tick-borne diseases by controlling vector infestations and reducing pathogen transmission. These premises have encouraged researchers to develop an effective vaccine against ticks, with several proteins having been characterized and used in native, synthetic, and recombinant forms as antigens in immunizations. The growing interaction between domestic pets and people underscores the importance of developing new tick control measures that require effective screening platforms applied to vaccine development. However, as reviewed in this paper, very little progress has been made in controlling ectoparasite infestations in pets using the vaccine approach. The control of tick infestations and pathogen transmission could be obtained through immunization programs aimed at reducing the tick population and interfering in the pathogenic transmission that affects human and animal health on a global scale.
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Garcia GR, Chaves Ribeiro JM, Maruyama SR, Gardinassi LG, Nelson K, Ferreira BR, Andrade TG, de Miranda Santos IKF. A transcriptome and proteome of the tick Rhipicephalus microplus shaped by the genetic composition of its hosts and developmental stage. Sci Rep 2020; 10:12857. [PMID: 32732984 PMCID: PMC7393499 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-69793-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The cattle tick, Rhipicephalus microplus, is a monoxenous tick that co-evolved with indicine cattle on the Indian subcontinent. It causes massive damage to livestock worldwide. Cattle breeds present heritable, contrasting phenotypes of tick loads, taurine breeds carrying higher loads of the parasite than indicine breeds. Thus, a useful model is available to analyze mechanisms that determine outcomes of parasitism. We sought to gain insights on these mechanisms and used RNA sequencing and Multidimensional Protein Identification Technology (MudPIT) to generate a transcriptome from whole larvae and salivary glands from nymphs, males and females feeding on genetically susceptible and resistant bovine hosts and their corresponding proteomes. 931,698 reads were annotated into 11,676 coding sequences (CDS), which were manually curated into 116 different protein families. Male ticks presented the most diverse armamentarium of mediators of parasitism. In addition, levels of expression of many genes encoding mediators of parasitism were significantly associated with the level and stage of host immunity and/or were temporally restricted to developmental stages of the tick. These insights should assist in developing novel, sustainable technologies for tick control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gustavo R Garcia
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14049-900, Brazil.,Superintendence of the São Paulo State Technical and Scientific Police, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - José Marcos Chaves Ribeiro
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Sandra Regina Maruyama
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14049-900, Brazil.,Department of Genetics and Evolution, Center for Biological Sciences and Health, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Luiz Gustavo Gardinassi
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14049-900, Brazil.,Institute of Tropical Pathology and Public Health, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil
| | - Kristina Nelson
- Center for the Study of Biological Complexity, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Beatriz R Ferreira
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14049-900, Brazil.,Department of Maternal-Child Nursing and Public Health, Ribeirão Preto School of Nursing, USP, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Thales Galdino Andrade
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14049-900, Brazil.,Department of Maternal-Child Nursing and Public Health, Ribeirão Preto School of Nursing, USP, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Isabel K Ferreira de Miranda Santos
- Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes 3900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14049-900, Brazil.
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10
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Design of an Epitope-Based Vaccine Ensemble for Animal Trypanosomiasis by Computational Methods. Vaccines (Basel) 2020; 8:vaccines8010130. [PMID: 32188062 PMCID: PMC7157688 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines8010130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Revised: 01/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
African animal trypanosomiasis is caused by vector-transmitted parasites of the genus Trypanosoma. T. congolense and T. brucei brucei are predominant in Africa; T. evansi and T. vivax in America and Asia. They have in common an extracellular lifestyle and livestock tropism, which provokes huge economic losses in regions where vectors are endemic. There are licensed drugs to treat the infections, but adherence to treatment is poor and appearance of resistances common. Therefore, the availability of a prophylactic vaccine would represent a major breakthrough towards the management and control of the disease. Selection of the most appropriate antigens for its development is a bottleneck step, especially considering the limited resources allocated. Herein we propose a vaccine strategy based on multiple epitopes from multiple antigens to counteract the parasites´ biological complexity. Epitopes were identified by computer-assisted genome-wide screenings, considering sequence conservation criteria, antigens annotation and sub-cellular localization, high binding affinity to antigen presenting molecules, and lack of cross-reactivity to proteins in cattle and other breeding species. We ultimately provide 31 B-cell, 8 CD4 T-cell, and 15 CD8 T-cell epitope sequences from 30 distinct antigens for the prospective design of a genetic ensemble vaccine against the four trypanosome species responsible for African animal trypanosomiasis.
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11
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Tafur-Gómez GA, Patarroyo Salcedo JH, Vargas MI, Araújo L, Fidelis CF, Prates-Patarroyo PA, Cortes-Vecino JA, Portela RW. Intestinal changes and performance parameters in ticks feeding on calves immunized with subunits of immunogens against Rhipicephalus microplus. EXPERIMENTAL & APPLIED ACAROLOGY 2020; 80:91-107. [PMID: 31845063 DOI: 10.1007/s10493-019-00451-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
We describe the intestinal changes and biological parameters of the tick species Rhipicephalus microplus exposed to the immune response of calves vaccinated with two subunits of immunogens. The first group of Bos taurus calves was immunized with a synthetic peptide (SBm7462), whereas the second group received an inoculum for synthetic control. The third group was immunized with a recombinant peptide (rSBm7462); an inoculum was injected into a fourth group of calves for recombinant control. Each formulation was administered to these calves during three times at intervals of 30 days. At 21 days after the last immunization, the calves were challenged using a total of 4500 larvae per animal. Indirect ELISA was realized to identify the kinetics of IgGs from samples of calves studied. Naturally detaching ticks were collected for analyses of biological performance and histological changes in the midgut. We dissected randomly detached ticks. The midgut of each of these ticks was removed and processed routinely for histology, stained with hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) and slow Giemsa. Slides were also subjected to immunohistochemistry. The antibody response showed significant induction of high-affinity IgGs in calves immunized with both peptides in comparison to calves of the control groups. Histological changes included damage of the intestinal epithelium in ticks fed on immunized hosts and intense immunostaining in midgut cells, using the serum of calves immunized with recombinant peptide. There were significant differences in all biological performing parameters of ticks detached from vaccinated calves in comparison with ticks of the control groups. We identified reductions of 87.7 and 93.5% in engorged ticks detached from calves immunized with a synthetic and recombinant peptides, respectively, a 28 and 8.60% lower egg mass in groups immunized with synthetic and recombinant peptides, respectively, and a 38.4% reduction of the value of nutrient index/tick in the group immunized with the recombinant peptide. Our findings show that the immune response induced by small peptides in cattle can modify the digestion and metabolism of ticks fed on vaccinated animals, resulting in changes in tick performance.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Joaquín H Patarroyo Salcedo
- Departamento de Veterinária, Laboratório de Biologia e Controle de Hematozoários e Vetores, Instituto de Biotecnologia Aplicada à Agropecuária - BIOAGRO, Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, Viçosa, MG, CEP 36570-900, Brasil.
| | - Marlene I Vargas
- Departamento de Veterinária, Laboratório de Biologia e Controle de Hematozoários e Vetores, Instituto de Biotecnologia Aplicada à Agropecuária - BIOAGRO, Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, Viçosa, MG, CEP 36570-900, Brasil
| | - Leandro Araújo
- Departamento de Veterinária, Laboratório de Biologia e Controle de Hematozoários e Vetores, Instituto de Biotecnologia Aplicada à Agropecuária - BIOAGRO, Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, Viçosa, MG, CEP 36570-900, Brasil
| | - Cintia F Fidelis
- Departamento de Veterinária, Laboratório de Biologia e Controle de Hematozoários e Vetores, Instituto de Biotecnologia Aplicada à Agropecuária - BIOAGRO, Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, Viçosa, MG, CEP 36570-900, Brasil
| | - Pablo A Prates-Patarroyo
- Departamento de Veterinária, Laboratório de Biologia e Controle de Hematozoários e Vetores, Instituto de Biotecnologia Aplicada à Agropecuária - BIOAGRO, Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, Viçosa, MG, CEP 36570-900, Brasil
| | - Jesus A Cortes-Vecino
- Laboratorio de Parasitología Veterinaria, Departamento de Salud Animal, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y de Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, 11001, Colombia
| | - Ricardo W Portela
- Departamento de Biointeração, Instituto de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia - UFBA, Salvador, BA, CEP 40110-903, Brasil
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12
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Pérez-Sánchez R, Manzano-Román R, Obolo-Mvoulouga P, Oleaga A. Function-guided selection of midgut antigens from Ornithodoros erraticus ticks and an evaluation of their protective efficacy in rabbits. Vet Parasitol 2019; 272:1-12. [PMID: 31395198 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2019.06.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2019] [Revised: 06/24/2019] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The identification of candidate protective antigens for the development of tick vaccines may be approached by selecting antigen candidates that play key biological functions. Tick midgut proteins that play essential functions in tick survival and disease transmission are upregulated in response to blood feeding and digestion. In this study, Ornithodoros erraticus midgut transcriptomic and proteomic data upon feeding were inspected to select functionally relevant antigens to be assessed as vaccine candidate antigens. For this, we primarily focused on proteins with relevant biological functions in key physiological processes for ticks and tick-host-pathogen interactions. Later, we used additional criteria based on overexpression after feeding, predicted antigenicity and cellular localisation, resulting in the selection of four theoretical candidates, two aquaporins (OeAQP, OeAQP1), one ABC transporter (OeABC) and one selenoprotein T (OeSEL). Rabbit vaccination with synthetic immunogenic peptides designed from the extracellular antigenic regions of the selected candidates induced humoral responses that reduced tick feeding and reproduction performance. Both AQPs and OeSEL demonstrated significant protection efficacy against the homologous species O. erraticus, but lower non-significant cross-species protection against Ornithodoros moubata. Conversely, OeABC showed no protection against the homologous species O. erraticus, but significant cross-species protection against O. moubata. These results are the first demonstration of the protective potential of argasid aquaporins, suggesting that they might be included in vaccines for the control of multiple tick species. Additionally, these results also unveiled two novel protective antigens from argasid ticks, OeABC and OeSEL, belonging to functional protein families that have never been explored as a source of vaccine candidates and are deserving of further studies. Finally, our data add value to the midgut as a protective candidate antigen source in argasids for the control of tick infestations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo Pérez-Sánchez
- Parasitología Animal, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Salamanca (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008 Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Raúl Manzano-Román
- Parasitología Animal, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Salamanca (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008 Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Prosper Obolo-Mvoulouga
- Parasitología Animal, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Salamanca (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008 Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Ana Oleaga
- Parasitología Animal, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Salamanca (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008 Salamanca, Spain.
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13
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Oleaga A, Obolo-Mvoulouga P, Manzano-Román R, Pérez-Sánchez R. De novo assembly and analysis of midgut transcriptome of the argasid tick Ornithodoros erraticus and identification of genes differentially expressed after blood feeding. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2018; 9:1537-1554. [PMID: 30093291 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2018.06.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2018] [Revised: 06/11/2018] [Accepted: 06/26/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Ticks are hematophagous vectors of great medical and veterinary importance because they transmit numerous pathogenic microorganisms to humans and animals. The argasid Ornithodoros erraticus is the main vector of tick-borne human relapsing fever and African swine fever in the Mediterranean Basin. Tick enterocytes express bioactive molecules that perform key functions in blood digestion, feeding, toxic waste processing and pathogen transmission. To explore new strategies for tick control, in this work we have obtained and compared the midgut transcriptomes of O. erraticus female ticks before and after a blood meal and identified the genes whose expression is differentially regulated after feeding. The transcript sequences were annotated, functionally and structurally characterised and their expression levels compared between both physiological conditions (unfed females and fed females at 2 days post-engorgement). Up to 29,025 transcripts were assembled, and 9290 of them corresponded to differentially expressed genes (DEGs) after feeding. Of these, 4656 genes were upregulated and nearly the same number of genes was downregulated in fed females compared to unfed females. BLASTN and BLASTX analyses of the 29,025 transcripts allowed the annotation of 9072 transcripts/proteins. Among them, the most numerous were those with catalytic and binding activities and those involved in diverse metabolic pathways and cellular processes. The analyses of functional groups of upregulated DEGs potentially related to the digestion of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids, and the genes involved in the defence response and response to oxidative stress, confirm that these processes are narrowly regulated in ticks, highlighting their complexity and importance in tick biology. The expression patterns of six genes throughout the blood digestion period revealed significant differences between these patterns, strongly suggesting that the transcriptome composition is highly dynamic and subjected to important variation along the trophogonic cycle. This may guide future studies aimed at improving the understanding of the molecular physiology of tick digestion and digestion-related processes. The current work provides a more robust and comprehensive understanding of the argasid tick digestive system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Oleaga
- Parasitology Laboratory, Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008 Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Prosper Obolo-Mvoulouga
- Parasitology Laboratory, Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008 Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Raúl Manzano-Román
- Parasitology Laboratory, Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008 Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Ricardo Pérez-Sánchez
- Parasitology Laboratory, Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008 Salamanca, Spain.
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14
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Zhang Q, Lin K, Wang C, Xu Z, Yang L, Ma Q. Identification of Streptococcus mitis321A vaccine antigens based on reverse vaccinology. Mol Med Rep 2018; 17:7477-7486. [PMID: 29620181 PMCID: PMC5983942 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2018.8799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2016] [Accepted: 04/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Streptococcus mitis (S. mitis) may transform into highly pathogenic bacteria. The aim of the present study was to identify potential antigen targets for designing an effective vaccine against the pathogenic S. mitis321A. The genome of S. mitis321A was sequenced using an Illumina Hiseq2000 instrument. Subsequently, Glimmer 3.02 and Tandem Repeat Finder (TRF) 4.04 were used to predict genes and tandem repeats, respectively, with DNA sequence function analysis using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Cluster of Orthologous Groups of proteins (COG) databases. Putative gene antigen candidates were screened with BLAST ahead of phylogenetic tree analysis. The DNA sequence assembly size was 2,110,680 bp with 40.12% GC, 6 scaffolds and 9 contig. Consequently, 1,944 genes were predicted, and 119 TRF, 56 microsatellite DNA, 10 minisatellite DNA and 154 transposons were acquired. The predicted genes were associated with various pathways and functions concerning membrane transport and energy metabolism. Multiple putative genes encoding surface proteins, secreted proteins and virulence factors, as well as essential genes were determined. The majority of essential genes belonged to a phylogenetic lineage, while 321AGL000129 and 321AGL000299 were on the same branch. The current study provided useful information regarding the biological function of the S. mitis321A genome and recommends putative antigen candidates for developing a potent vaccine against S. mitis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiao Zhang
- Institute of Respiratory Disease, Xinqiao Hospital of Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, P.R. China
| | - Kexiong Lin
- Institute of Respiratory Disease, Xinqiao Hospital of Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, P.R. China
| | - Changzheng Wang
- Institute of Respiratory Disease, Xinqiao Hospital of Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, P.R. China
| | - Zhi Xu
- Institute of Respiratory Disease, Xinqiao Hospital of Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, P.R. China
| | - Li Yang
- Institute of Respiratory Disease, Xinqiao Hospital of Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, P.R. China
| | - Qianli Ma
- Institute of Respiratory Disease, Xinqiao Hospital of Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, P.R. China
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Evaluation of the protective efficacy of Ornithodoros moubata midgut membrane antigens selected using omics and in silico prediction algorithms. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2018; 9:1158-1172. [PMID: 29728336 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2018.04.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Revised: 04/18/2018] [Accepted: 04/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The African argasid tick Ornithodoros moubata transmits two important pathogens, the African swine fever virus and the spirochete Borrelia duttoni, the cause of human relapsing fever. To date, only conventional control measures such as widespread application of acaricides, strict control measures, and animal movement restrictions have been implemented to confine these diseases. Vaccines against tick infestations have the potential to be among the most efficacious interventions for the management of these diseases. Plasma membrane-associated proteins upregulated in tick midgut cells in response to blood feeding and digestion are thought to play vital functions in tick physiology and in the transmission of tick-borne pathogens. In addition, their antigenic extracellular regions are easily accessible to antibodies synthesised by immunised hosts, which makes them interesting targets for tick vaccine design. The mialomes (midgut transcriptomes and proteomes) of unfed O. moubata females and of engorged females at 48 h post-feeding have recently been obtained, providing a wealth of predicted midgut protein sequences. In the current study, these mialomes were screened using in silico tools to select predicted antigenic transmembrane proteins that were upregulated after feeding (516 proteins). The functionally annotatable proteins from this list (396 proteins) were then manually inspected following additional criteria in order to select a finite and easy-manageable number of candidate antigens for tick vaccine design. The extracellular antigenic regions of five of these candidates were obtained either as truncated recombinant proteins or as KLH-conjugated synthetic peptides, formulated in Freund's adjuvant, and individually administered to rabbits to assess their immunogenicity and protective potential against infestations by O. moubata and the Iberian species Ornithodoros erraticus. All candidates were highly immunogenic, but provided low protection against the O. moubata infestations (ranging from 7% to 39%). Interestingly, all candidates except one also protected against infestations by O. erraticus, achieving higher efficacies against this species (from 20% to 66%). According to their protective potential, three of the five antigens tested (Om17, Om86 and OM99) were considered little suitable for use in tick vaccines, while the other two (OM85 and OM03) were considered useful antigens for tick vaccine development, deserving further studies.
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16
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Stutzer C, Richards SA, Ferreira M, Baron S, Maritz-Olivier C. Metazoan Parasite Vaccines: Present Status and Future Prospects. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2018; 8:67. [PMID: 29594064 PMCID: PMC5859119 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2018.00067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Accepted: 02/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Eukaryotic parasites and pathogens continue to cause some of the most detrimental and difficult to treat diseases (or disease states) in both humans and animals, while also continuously expanding into non-endemic countries. Combined with the ever growing number of reports on drug-resistance and the lack of effective treatment programs for many metazoan diseases, the impact that these organisms will have on quality of life remain a global challenge. Vaccination as an effective prophylactic treatment has been demonstrated for well over 200 years for bacterial and viral diseases. From the earliest variolation procedures to the cutting edge technologies employed today, many protective preparations have been successfully developed for use in both medical and veterinary applications. In spite of the successes of these applications in the discovery of subunit vaccines against prokaryotic pathogens, not many targets have been successfully developed into vaccines directed against metazoan parasites. With the current increase in -omics technologies and metadata for eukaryotic parasites, target discovery for vaccine development can be expedited. However, a good understanding of the host/vector/pathogen interface is needed to understand the underlying biological, biochemical and immunological components that will confer a protective response in the host animal. Therefore, systems biology is rapidly coming of age in the pursuit of effective parasite vaccines. Despite the difficulties, a number of approaches have been developed and applied to parasitic helminths and arthropods. This review will focus on key aspects of vaccine development that require attention in the battle against these metazoan parasites, as well as successes in the field of vaccine development for helminthiases and ectoparasites. Lastly, we propose future direction of applying successes in pursuit of next generation vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Stutzer
- Tick Vaccine Group, Department of Genetics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
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17
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Bragazzi NL, Gianfredi V, Villarini M, Rosselli R, Nasr A, Hussein A, Martini M, Behzadifar M. Vaccines Meet Big Data: State-of-the-Art and Future Prospects. From the Classical 3Is ("Isolate-Inactivate-Inject") Vaccinology 1.0 to Vaccinology 3.0, Vaccinomics, and Beyond: A Historical Overview. Front Public Health 2018; 6:62. [PMID: 29556492 PMCID: PMC5845111 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2018.00062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2017] [Accepted: 02/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Vaccines are public health interventions aimed at preventing infections-related mortality, morbidity, and disability. While vaccines have been successfully designed for those infectious diseases preventable by preexisting neutralizing specific antibodies, for other communicable diseases, additional immunological mechanisms should be elicited to achieve a full protection. “New vaccines” are particularly urgent in the nowadays society, in which economic growth, globalization, and immigration are leading to the emergence/reemergence of old and new infectious agents at the animal–human interface. Conventional vaccinology (the so-called “vaccinology 1.0”) was officially born in 1796 thanks to the contribution of Edward Jenner. Entering the twenty-first century, vaccinology has shifted from a classical discipline in which serendipity and the Pasteurian principle of the three Is (isolate, inactivate, and inject) played a major role to a science, characterized by a rational design and plan (“vaccinology 3.0”). This shift has been possible thanks to Big Data, characterized by different dimensions, such as high volume, velocity, and variety of data. Big Data sources include new cutting-edge, high-throughput technologies, electronic registries, social media, and social networks, among others. The current mini-review aims at exploring the potential roles as well as pitfalls and challenges of Big Data in shaping the future vaccinology, moving toward a tailored and personalized vaccine design and administration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Luigi Bragazzi
- Department of Health Sciences (DISSAL), School of Public Health, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Vincenza Gianfredi
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Unit of Public Health, School of Specialization in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Milena Villarini
- Unit of Public Health, Department of Pharmaceutical Science, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | | | - Ahmed Nasr
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Pathology University Milan Bicocca, San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy
| | - Amr Hussein
- Medical Faculty, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Mariano Martini
- Section of History of Medicine and Ethics, Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Masoud Behzadifar
- Health Management and Economics Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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18
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Csordas BG, Cunha RC, Garcia MV, da Silva SS, Leite FL, Andreotti R. Molecular characterization of the recombinant protein RmLTI-BmCG-LTB: Protective immunity against Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0191596. [PMID: 29415034 PMCID: PMC5802849 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0191596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2017] [Accepted: 01/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The bovine tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus is found in several tropical and subtropical regions of the world. This parasite transmits pathogens that cause disease, such as babesiosis (Babesia bovis and B. bigemina) and anaplasmosis (Anaplasma marginale). Tick infestations cause enormous livestock losses, and controlling tick infestations and the transmission of tick-borne diseases remains a challenge for the livestock industry. Because the currently available commercial vaccines offer only partial protection against R. (B.) microplus, there is a need for more efficient vaccines. Several recombinant antigens have been evaluated using different immunization strategies, and they show great promise. This work describes the construction and immunological characterization of a multi-antigen chimera composed of two R. (B.) microplus antigens (RmLTI and BmCG) and one Escherichia coli antigen (B subunit, LTB). The immunogenic regions of each antigen were selected and combined to encode a single polypeptide. The gene was cloned and expressed in E. coli. For all of the experiments, two groups (treated and control) of four Angus heifers (3-6 months old) were used. The inoculation was performed via intramuscular injection with 200 μg of purified recombinant chimeric protein and adjuvated. The chimeric protein was recognized by specific antibodies against each subunit and by sera from cattle inoculated with the chimera. Immunization of RmLTI-BmCG-LTB cattle reduced the number of adult female ticks by 6.29% and vaccination of cattle with the chimeric antigen provided 55.6% efficacy against R. (B.) microplus infestation. The results of this study indicate that the novel chimeric protein is a potential candidate for the future development of a more effective vaccine against R. (B.) microplus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bárbara Guimarães Csordas
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Doenças Infecciosas e Parasitárias, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Bolsista de Doutorado pela Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil
| | - Rodrigo Casquero Cunha
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil
| | - Marcos Valério Garcia
- Bolsista de Pós-Doutorado, Fundação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento do Ensino, Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil
- Laboratório de Biologia Molecular do Carrapato, Departamento de Sanidade Animal, Embrapa Gado de Corte, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil
| | - Sérgio Silva da Silva
- Laboratório de Doenças Parasitárias, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil
| | - Fábio Leivas Leite
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil
| | - Renato Andreotti
- Laboratório de Biologia Molecular do Carrapato, Departamento de Sanidade Animal, Embrapa Gado de Corte, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil
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Kuleš J, Horvatić A, Guillemin N, Galan A, Mrljak V, Bhide M. New approaches and omics tools for mining of vaccine candidates against vector-borne diseases. MOLECULAR BIOSYSTEMS 2017; 12:2680-94. [PMID: 27384976 DOI: 10.1039/c6mb00268d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) present a major threat to human and animal health, as well as place a substantial burden on livestock production. As a way of sustainable VBD control, focus is set on vaccine development. Advances in genomics and other "omics" over the past two decades have given rise to a "third generation" of vaccines based on technologies such as reverse vaccinology, functional genomics, immunomics, structural vaccinology and the systems biology approach. The application of omics approaches is shortening the time required to develop the vaccines and increasing the probability of discovery of potential vaccine candidates. Herein, we review the development of new generation vaccines for VBDs, and discuss technological advancement and overall challenges in the vaccine development pipeline. Special emphasis is placed on the development of anti-tick vaccines that can quell both vectors and pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josipa Kuleš
- ERA Chair VetMedZg project, Internal Diseases Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Anita Horvatić
- ERA Chair VetMedZg project, Internal Diseases Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Nicolas Guillemin
- ERA Chair VetMedZg project, Internal Diseases Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Asier Galan
- ERA Chair VetMedZg project, Internal Diseases Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Vladimir Mrljak
- ERA Chair VetMedZg project, Internal Diseases Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Mangesh Bhide
- ERA Chair VetMedZg project, Internal Diseases Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia. and Laboratory of Biomedical Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy, Kosice, Slovakia and Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovakia Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
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20
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Barrero RA, Guerrero FD, Black M, McCooke J, Chapman B, Schilkey F, Pérez de León AA, Miller RJ, Bruns S, Dobry J, Mikhaylenko G, Stormo K, Bell C, Tao Q, Bogden R, Moolhuijzen PM, Hunter A, Bellgard MI. Gene-enriched draft genome of the cattle tick Rhipicephalus microplus: assembly by the hybrid Pacific Biosciences/Illumina approach enabled analysis of the highly repetitive genome. Int J Parasitol 2017; 47:569-583. [PMID: 28577881 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2017.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2016] [Revised: 03/16/2017] [Accepted: 03/16/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The genome of the cattle tick Rhipicephalus microplus, an ectoparasite with global distribution, is estimated to be 7.1Gbp in length and consists of approximately 70% repetitive DNA. We report the draft assembly of a tick genome that utilized a hybrid sequencing and assembly approach to capture the repetitive fractions of the genome. Our hybrid approach produced an assembly consisting of 2.0Gbp represented in 195,170 scaffolds with a N50 of 60,284bp. The Rmi v2.0 assembly is 51.46% repetitive with a large fraction of unclassified repeats, short interspersed elements, long interspersed elements and long terminal repeats. We identified 38,827 putative R. microplus gene loci, of which 24,758 were protein coding genes (≥100 amino acids). OrthoMCL comparative analysis against 11 selected species including insects and vertebrates identified 10,835 and 3,423 protein coding gene loci that are unique to R. microplus or common to both R. microplus and Ixodes scapularis ticks, respectively. We identified 191 microRNA loci, of which 168 have similarity to known miRNAs and 23 represent novel miRNA families. We identified the genomic loci of several highly divergent R. microplus esterases with sequence similarity to acetylcholinesterase. Additionally we report the finding of a novel cytochrome P450 CYP41 homolog that shows similar protein folding structures to known CYP41 proteins known to be involved in acaricide resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto A Barrero
- Centre for Comparative Genomics, Murdoch University, WA 6151, Australia
| | - Felix D Guerrero
- USDA-ARS Knipling-Bushland US Livestock Insects Research Laboratory and Veterinary Pest Genomics Center, 2700 Fredericksburg Rd., Kerrville, TX 78028, USA
| | - Michael Black
- Centre for Comparative Genomics, Murdoch University, WA 6151, Australia
| | - John McCooke
- Centre for Comparative Genomics, Murdoch University, WA 6151, Australia
| | - Brett Chapman
- Centre for Comparative Genomics, Murdoch University, WA 6151, Australia
| | - Faye Schilkey
- National Center for Genome Resources, Santa Fe, NM, USA
| | - Adalberto A Pérez de León
- USDA-ARS Knipling-Bushland US Livestock Insects Research Laboratory and Veterinary Pest Genomics Center, 2700 Fredericksburg Rd., Kerrville, TX 78028, USA
| | - Robert J Miller
- USDA-ARS Cattle Fever Tick Research Laboratory, 22675 North Moorefield Rd., Edinburg, TX 78541, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Callum Bell
- National Center for Genome Resources, Santa Fe, NM, USA
| | | | | | - Paula M Moolhuijzen
- Centre for Crop Disease and Management, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia
| | - Adam Hunter
- Centre for Comparative Genomics, Murdoch University, WA 6151, Australia
| | - Matthew I Bellgard
- Centre for Comparative Genomics, Murdoch University, WA 6151, Australia.
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21
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Oleaga A, Obolo-Mvoulouga P, Manzano-Román R, Pérez-Sánchez R. Functional annotation and analysis of the Ornithodoros moubata midgut genes differentially expressed after blood feeding. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2017; 8:693-708. [PMID: 28528879 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2017.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2016] [Revised: 05/03/2017] [Accepted: 05/07/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The argasid tick Ornithodoros moubata is the main vector of the African swine fever and the human relapsing fever in Africa. As part of the host-parasite-pathogen interface, the tick midgut expresses key proteins for tick survival and tick-borne pathogen transmission. Accordingly, midgut proteins are potential targets for the development of new drugs and vaccines aimed at tick control, and obtaining proteomic and transcriptomic data from the O. moubata midgut would facilitate the identification of such target candidates. With this aim, we have assembled and characterized the midgut transcriptome of O. moubata females before and 48h after a blood meal, and identified the genes that are differentially expressed in the midgut after feeding. Overall, 23,863 transcripts were obtained, and of them, 9,164 were identified and annotated. The most represented molecular functions were catalytic and binding activities, and the most represented biological processes were metabolic, cellular and single-organism processes. KEGG analysis of the annotated sequences assigned up to 3,053 of them to 130 active pathways, among which, the top 30 pathways were mostly metabolic routes. Differential expression analysis between unfed and fed ticks detected 8,026 Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs), 4,093 up-regulated and 3,933 down-regulated, respectively. The biological significance of these DEGs was further investigated using the KEEG, Pfam and GO databases. The functional groups of the genes/proteins predicted to be involved in the processes of blood digestion, nutrient transport and metabolism, and in responses related to defence and oxidative stress are discussed in more detail. This work reports the first midgut transcriptome analysis of an argasid tick species, and provides a wealth of novel molecular information about the argasid machinery involved in blood feeding and digestion. This information represents a starting point for the development of alternative strategies for tick control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Oleaga
- Parasitology Laboratory, Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008 Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Prosper Obolo-Mvoulouga
- Parasitology Laboratory, Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
| | - Raúl Manzano-Román
- Parasitology Laboratory, Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
| | - Ricardo Pérez-Sánchez
- Parasitology Laboratory, Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
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22
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Ramírez Rodríguez PB, Rosario Cruz R, Domínguez García DI, Hernández Gutiérrez R, Lagunes Quintanilla RE, Ortuño Sahagún D, González Castillo C, Gutiérrez Ortega A, Herrera Rodríguez SE, Vallejo Cardona A, Martínez Velázquez M. Identification of immunogenic proteins from ovarian tissue and recognized in larval extracts of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus , through an immunoproteomic approach. Exp Parasitol 2016; 170:227-235. [DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2016.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2016] [Revised: 10/03/2016] [Accepted: 10/06/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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de la Fuente J, Kopáček P, Lew-Tabor A, Maritz-Olivier C. Strategies for new and improved vaccines against ticks and tick-borne diseases. Parasite Immunol 2016; 38:754-769. [PMID: 27203187 DOI: 10.1111/pim.12339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2016] [Accepted: 05/13/2016] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Ticks infest a variety of animal species and transmit pathogens causing disease in both humans and animals worldwide. Tick-host-pathogen interactions have evolved through dynamic processes that accommodated the genetic traits of the hosts, pathogens transmitted and the vector tick species that mediate their development and survival. New approaches for tick control are dependent on defining molecular interactions between hosts, ticks and pathogens to allow for discovery of key molecules that could be tested in vaccines or new generation therapeutics for intervention of tick-pathogen cycles. Currently, tick vaccines constitute an effective and environmentally sound approach for the control of ticks and the transmission of the associated tick-borne diseases. New candidate protective antigens will most likely be identified by focusing on proteins with relevant biological function in the feeding, reproduction, development, immune response, subversion of host immunity of the tick vector and/or molecules vital for pathogen infection and transmission. This review addresses different approaches and strategies used for the discovery of protective antigens, including focusing on relevant tick biological functions and proteins, reverse genetics, vaccinomics and tick protein evolution and interactomics. New and improved tick vaccines will most likely contain multiple antigens to control tick infestations and pathogen infection and transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- J de la Fuente
- SaBio, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ciudad Real, Spain.,Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA
| | - P Kopáček
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - A Lew-Tabor
- Queensland Alliance for Agriculture & Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia.,Centre for Comparative Genomics, Murdoch University, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - C Maritz-Olivier
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
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24
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Aguirre ADAR, Lobo FP, Cunha RC, Garcia MV, Andreotti R. Design of the ATAQ peptide and its evaluation as an immunogen to develop a Rhipicephalus vaccine. Vet Parasitol 2016; 221:30-8. [PMID: 27084468 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2016.02.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2015] [Revised: 02/21/2016] [Accepted: 02/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Tick infestation may cause several problems including affecting domestic animal health and reducing the production of meat and milk, among others. Resistance to several classes of acaricides have been reported, forcing researchers to search for alternative measures, such as vaccines against ticks, to ensure tick control while having no or at least low negative impacts on the environment and public health. However, the current commercially available vaccines in different strains of Rhipicephalus microplus are reported to be of low efficacy. Fortunately, reverse vaccinology approaches have shown positive results in the new generation of vaccines. On this basis, a synthetic peptide from the ATAQ protein, which is present in the gut and Malpighi tubes of R. microplus, was synthesized. The ATAQ proteins were isolated, characterized and sequenced from several species of the genus Rhipicephalus. The alignment showed 93.3% identity among DNA sequences of ATAQs from these species. Because of this, immunization trials with this peptide were conducted on mice, rabbits and cattle to evaluate the humoral immune response and the efficacy against Rhipicephalus sanguineus in addition to R. microplus. Based on recent results, we conclude that reverse vaccinology is a promising approach because it is more accurate and faster than conventional methods in the detection of potential antigens to use in anti-tick vaccines. It is not only applicable against R. microplus but also against tick species that play important roles in spreading other diseases. ATAQ proteins should be considered as the antigen in new trials to develop a multi-antigenic vaccine. Although these peptides behave as hapten and are not able to be recognized by the immune system on its own, using carriers and adjuvants helps its presentation and induces strong immune responses. Furthermore, an efficiency of 35% reduction in overall life cycle parameters was reported for R. microplus (98% for ELISA responder animals) and 47% for R. sanguineus. Although not yet enough to prevent the environment to infestation of ticks, this still constitutes a promising strategy that could be applied to integrated measures on tick control and in new research that develops anti-tick vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- André de Abreu Rangel Aguirre
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciência Animal, FAMEZ, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Av. Felinto Müller, No. 2443, Vila Ipiranga, CEP 79074-460 Campo Grande, MS, Brazil; Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz Rondônia, Rua da Beira, No. 7671, Bairro Lagoa, CEP 76812-245 Porto Velho, RO, Brazil.
| | - Francisco Pereira Lobo
- Embrapa Informática Agropecuária, Av. André Tosello, No. 209 Campus Unicamp, Barão Geraldo, CEP 13083-886 Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo Casquero Cunha
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciência Animal, FAMEZ, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Av. Felinto Müller, No. 2443, Vila Ipiranga, CEP 79074-460 Campo Grande, MS, Brazil; Embrapa Gado de Corte, Av. Rádio Maia, No. 830, Zona Rural, CEP 79106-550 Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
| | - Marcos Valério Garcia
- Embrapa Gado de Corte, Av. Rádio Maia, No. 830, Zona Rural, CEP 79106-550 Campo Grande, MS, Brazil; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Brazil()
| | - Renato Andreotti
- Embrapa Gado de Corte, Av. Rádio Maia, No. 830, Zona Rural, CEP 79106-550 Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
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Dimitrov I, Atanasova M, Patronov A, Flower DR, Doytchinova I. A Cohesive and Integrated Platform for Immunogenicity Prediction. Methods Mol Biol 2016; 1404:761-770. [PMID: 27076336 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-3389-1_50] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
In silico methods for immunogenicity prediction mine the enormous quantity of data arising from deciphered genomes and proteomes to identify immunogenic proteins. While high and productive immunogenicity is essential for vaccines, therapeutic proteins and monoclonal antibodies should be minimally immunogenic. Here, we present a cohesive platform for immunogenicity and MHC class I and/or II binding affinity prediction. The platform integrates three quasi-independent modular servers: VaxiJen, EpiJen, and EpiTOP. VaxiJen (http://www.ddg-pharmfac.net/vaxijen) predicts immunogenicity of proteins of different origin; EpiJen (http://www.ddg-pharmfac.net/epijen) predicts peptide binding to MHC class I proteins; and EpiTOP (http://www.ddg-pharmfac.net/epitop) predicts peptide binding to MHC class II proteins. The platform is freely accessible and user-friendly. The protocol for immunogenicity prediction is demonstrated by selecting immunogenic proteins from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and predicting how the peptide epitopes within them bind to MHC class I and class II proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Dimitrov
- School of Pharmacy, Medical University of Sofia, Sofia, 1000, Bulgaria
| | | | - Atanas Patronov
- Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich (CIPSM), Technical University of Munich, Freising-Weihenstephan, 85354, Germany.,Department of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising-Weihenstephan, 85354, Germany
| | - Darren R Flower
- School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK
| | - Irini Doytchinova
- School of Pharmacy, Medical University of Sofia, Sofia, 1000, Bulgaria.
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26
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A review of reverse vaccinology approaches for the development of vaccines against ticks and tick borne diseases. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2015; 7:573-85. [PMID: 26723274 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2015.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2015] [Revised: 11/24/2015] [Accepted: 12/12/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The field of reverse vaccinology developed as an outcome of the genome sequence revolution. Following the introduction of live vaccinations in the western world by Edward Jenner in 1798 and the coining of the phrase 'vaccine', in 1881 Pasteur developed a rational design for vaccines. Pasteur proposed that in order to make a vaccine that one should 'isolate, inactivate and inject the microorganism' and these basic rules of vaccinology were largely followed for the next 100 years leading to the elimination of several highly infectious diseases. However, new technologies were needed to conquer many pathogens which could not be eliminated using these traditional technologies. Thus increasingly, computers were used to mine genome sequences to rationally design recombinant vaccines. Several vaccines for bacterial and viral diseases (i.e. meningococcus and HIV) have been developed, however the on-going challenge for parasite vaccines has been due to their comparatively larger genomes. Understanding the immune response is important in reverse vaccinology studies as this knowledge will influence how the genome mining is to be conducted. Vaccine candidates for anaplasmosis, cowdriosis, theileriosis, leishmaniasis, malaria, schistosomiasis, and the cattle tick have been identified using reverse vaccinology approaches. Some challenges for parasite vaccine development include the ability to address antigenic variability as well the understanding of the complex interplay between antibody, mucosal and/or T cell immune responses. To understand the complex parasite interactions with the livestock host, there is the limitation where algorithms for epitope mining using the human genome cannot directly be adapted for bovine, for example the prediction of peptide binding to major histocompatibility complex motifs. As the number of genomes for both hosts and parasites increase, the development of new algorithms for pan-genomic mining will continue to impact the future of parasite and ricketsial (and other tick borne pathogens) disease vaccine development.
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Kocan KM, de la Fuente J, Coburn LA. Insights into the development of Ixodes scapularis: a resource for research on a medically important tick species. Parasit Vectors 2015; 8:592. [PMID: 26576940 PMCID: PMC4650338 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-015-1185-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2015] [Accepted: 10/23/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Ticks (Acari: Ixodida) are arthropod ectoparasites dependent on a bloodmeal from a vertebrate host at each developmental stage for completion of their life cycle. This tick feeding cycle impacts animal health by causing damage to hides, secondary infections, immune reactions and diseases caused by transmission of pathogens. The genus Ixodes includes several medically important species that vector diseases, including granulocytic anaplasmosis and Lyme disease. I. scapularis, commonly called the black-legged or deer tick, is a medically-important tick species in North America and therefore was the first tick genome to be sequenced, thus serving as an important resource for tick research. This Primer focuses on the normal developmental cycle and laboratory rearing of I. scapularis. Definition of normal morphology, along with a consistent source of laboratory-reared I. scapularis, are fundamental for all aspects of future research, especially the effects of genetic manipulation and the evaluation of tick vaccine efficacy. Recent research important for the advancement of tick research, namely the development of tick cell culture systems for study of ticks and tick-borne pathogens, RNA interference for genetic manipulation of ticks and discovery of candidate antigens for development of tick vaccines, are briefly presented along with areas to target for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine M Kocan
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA.
| | - José de la Fuente
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA.
- SaBio, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC)-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)-Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM)-Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha (JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13005, Ciudad Real, Spain.
| | - Lisa A Coburn
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA.
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Oleaga A, Obolo-Mvoulouga P, Manzano-Román R, Pérez-Sánchez R. Midgut proteome of an argasid tick, Ornithodoros erraticus: a comparison between unfed and engorged females. Parasit Vectors 2015; 8:525. [PMID: 26459090 PMCID: PMC4603979 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-015-1148-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2015] [Accepted: 10/07/2015] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The argasid tick Ornithodoros erraticus is the vector of African swine fever virus and of several Borrelia species that cause human relapsing fever in the Iberian Peninsula. The tick midgut is part of the ectoparasite-host interface and expresses proteins that are vital for the survival of the tick. Midgut proteins are therefore potential targets for drug and/or vaccine design aimed at the development of new strategies for tick control. Thus, the aim of this work was the characterization of the proteome of the O. erraticus midgut before and after a blood meal trying to elucidate the induced changes upon blood feeding. Methods Midgut tissues from unfed and engorged O. erraticus females were dissected and proteins were fractionated by centrifugation and SDS-PAGE, and the corresponding gel pieces analysed by LC–MS/MS. The identified proteins were classified according to their Protein Class and Molecular Function and the differences between fed and unfed specimens were analysed. Results Overall 555 tick proteins were identified: 414 in the midgut of the unfed specimens and 376 in the fed specimens, of which 235 were present in both groups. The proteins with catalytic, binding and structural functions were the most numerous and abundant, consistent with their role in the intracellular processing of the blood meal. The analysis of some groups of proteins putatively involved directly in blood meal digestion, including protein digestion (peptidase activity), iron metabolism, enzymes involved in oxidative stress and detoxification and membrane traffic and transport proteins, detected some differences between the fed and unfed ticks Conclusions This work reports for the first time the collection and analysis of the midgut proteome of an argasid tick species and provides molecular information about the argasid machinery involved in blood digestion. This information represents a starting point for the identification and selection of new targets for the development of alternative control strategies. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-015-1148-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Oleaga
- Parasitology Laboratory, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Salamanca (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008, Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Prosper Obolo-Mvoulouga
- Parasitology Laboratory, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Salamanca (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008, Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Raúl Manzano-Román
- Parasitology Laboratory, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Salamanca (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008, Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Ricardo Pérez-Sánchez
- Parasitology Laboratory, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Salamanca (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008, Salamanca, Spain.
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de la Fuente J, Contreras M. Tick vaccines: current status and future directions. Expert Rev Vaccines 2015; 14:1367-76. [DOI: 10.1586/14760584.2015.1076339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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Richards SA, Stutzer C, Bosman AM, Maritz-Olivier C. Transmembrane proteins--Mining the cattle tick transcriptome. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2015; 6:695-710. [PMID: 26096851 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2015.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2015] [Revised: 05/12/2015] [Accepted: 06/08/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Managing the spread and load of pathogen-transmitting ticks is an important task worldwide. The cattle tick, Rhipicephalus microplus, not only impacts the economy through losses in dairy and meat production, but also raises concerns for human health in regards to the potential of certain transmitted pathogens becoming zoonotic. However, novel strategies to control R. microplus are hindered by lack of understanding tick biology and the discovery of suitable vaccine or acaricide targets. The importance of transmembrane proteins as vaccine targets are well known, as is the case in tick vaccines with Bm86 as antigen. In this study, we describe the localization and functional annotation of 878 putative transmembrane proteins. Thirty proteins could be confirmed in the R. microplus gut using LC-MS/MS analysis and their roles in tick biology are discussed. To the best of our knowledge, 19 targets have not been reported before in any proteomics study in various tick species and the possibility of using the identified proteins as targets for tick control are discussed. Although tissue expression of identified putative proteins through expansive proteomics is necessary, this study demonstrates the possibility of using bioinformatics for the identification of targets for further evaluation in tick control strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine A Richards
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Christian Stutzer
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Anna-Mari Bosman
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Christine Maritz-Olivier
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
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Gomes H, Moraes J, Githaka N, Martins R, Isezaki M, Vaz IDS, Logullo C, Konnai S, Ohashi K. Vaccination with cyclin-dependent kinase tick antigen confers protection against Ixodes infestation. Vet Parasitol 2015; 211:266-73. [PMID: 26073111 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2015.05.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2015] [Revised: 05/23/2015] [Accepted: 05/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Among arthropods, ticks lead as vectors of animal diseases and rank second to mosquitoes in transmitting human pathogens. Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) participate in cell cycle control in eukaryotes. CDKs are serine/threonine protein kinases and these catalytic subunits are activated or inactivated at specific stages of the cell cycle. To determine the potential of using CDKs as anti-tick vaccine antigens, hamsters were immunized with recombinant Ixodes persulcatus CDK10, followed by a homologous tick challenge. Though it was not exactly unexpected, IpCDK10 vaccination significantly impaired tick blood feeding and fecundity, which manifested as low engorgement weights, poor oviposition, and a reduction in 80% of hatching rates. These findings may underpin the development of more efficacious anti-tick vaccines based on the targeting of cell cycle control proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helga Gomes
- Laboratório Integrado de Bioquímica Hatisaburo Masuda, NUPEM - UFRJ, Campus Macaé, Avenida São José do Barreto, São José do Barreto, Macaé, RJ CEP 27971-220, Brazil.
| | - Jorge Moraes
- Laboratório Integrado de Bioquímica Hatisaburo Masuda, NUPEM - UFRJ, Campus Macaé, Avenida São José do Barreto, São José do Barreto, Macaé, RJ CEP 27971-220, Brazil; Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia - Entomologia Molecular, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil; Instituto de Bioquímica Médica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, CCS, Bloco H, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Naftaly Githaka
- Tick Vector Laboratory, International Livestock Research Institute, P.O. Box 30709-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Renato Martins
- Laboratório de Química e Função de Proteínas e Peptídeos, Unidade de Experimentação Animal - CBB - UENF, Avenida Alberto Lamego, 2000, Horto, Campos dos Goytacazes RJ, CEP 28015-620, Brazil
| | - Masayoshi Isezaki
- Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 18, Nishi 9, Kita-Ku, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan
| | - Itabajara da Silva Vaz
- Centro de Biotecnologia e Faculdade de Veterinária, UFRGS, Avenida Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Porto Alegre, RS C.P. 15005, CEP 91501-970, Brazil; Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia - Entomologia Molecular, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Carlos Logullo
- Laboratório de Química e Função de Proteínas e Peptídeos, Unidade de Experimentação Animal - CBB - UENF, Avenida Alberto Lamego, 2000, Horto, Campos dos Goytacazes RJ, CEP 28015-620, Brazil; Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia - Entomologia Molecular, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Satoru Konnai
- Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 18, Nishi 9, Kita-Ku, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan
| | - Kazuhiko Ohashi
- Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 18, Nishi 9, Kita-Ku, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan
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Díaz-Martín V, Manzano-Román R, Obolo-Mvoulouga P, Oleaga A, Pérez-Sánchez R. Development of vaccines against Ornithodoros soft ticks: An update. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2015; 6:211-20. [PMID: 25802033 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2015.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2015] [Revised: 03/04/2015] [Accepted: 03/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Ticks are parasites of great medical and veterinary importance since they are vectors of numerous pathogens that affect humans, livestock and pets. Among the argasids, several species of the genus Ornithodoros transmit serious diseases such as tick-borne human relapsing fever (TBRF) and African Swine Fever (ASF). In particular, Ornithodoros erraticus is the main vector of these two diseases in the Mediterranean while O. moubata is the main vector in Africa. The presence of these Ornithodoros ticks in domestic and peridomestic environments may greatly hinder the eradication of TBRF and ASF from endemic areas. In addition, there is a constant threat of reintroduction and spreading of ASF into countries from where it has been eradicated (Spain and Portugal) or where it was never present (the Caucasus, Russia and Eastern Europe). In these countries, the presence of Ornithodoros vectors could have a tremendous impact on ASF transmission and long-term maintenance. Therefore, elimination of these ticks from at least synanthropic environments would contribute heavily to the prevention and control of the diseases they transmit. Tick control is a difficult task and although several methods for such control have been used, none of them has been fully effective against all ticks and the problems they cause. Nevertheless, immunological control using anti-tick vaccines offers an attractive alternative to the traditional use of acaricides. The aim of the present paper is to offer a brief overview of the current status in control measure development for Ornithodoros soft ticks, paying special attention to the development of vaccines against O. erraticus and O. moubata. Thus, our contribution includes an analysis of the chief attributes that the ideal antigens for an anti-tick vaccine should have, an exhaustive compilation and analysis of the scant anti-soft tick vaccine trials carried out to date using both concealed and salivary antigens and, finally, a brief description of the new reverse vaccinology approaches currently used to identify new and more effective protective tick antigens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verónica Díaz-Martín
- Parasitología Animal, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Salamanca (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008 Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Raúl Manzano-Román
- Parasitología Animal, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Salamanca (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008 Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Prosper Obolo-Mvoulouga
- Parasitología Animal, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Salamanca (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008 Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Ana Oleaga
- Parasitología Animal, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Salamanca (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008 Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Ricardo Pérez-Sánchez
- Parasitología Animal, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Salamanca (IRNASA, CSIC), Cordel de Merinas, 40-52, 37008 Salamanca, Spain.
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van Zyl WA, Stutzer C, Olivier NA, Maritz-Olivier C. Comparative microarray analyses of adult female midgut tissues from feeding Rhipicephalus species. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2014; 6:84-90. [PMID: 25448423 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2014.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2014] [Revised: 09/16/2014] [Accepted: 09/23/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The cattle tick, Rhipicephalus microplus, has a debilitating effect on the livestock industry worldwide, owing to its being a vector of the causative agents of bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis. In South Africa, co-infestation with R. microplus and R. decoloratus, a common vector species on local livestock, occurs widely in the northern and eastern parts of the country. An alternative to chemical control methods is sought in the form of a tick vaccine to control these tick species. However, sequence information and transcriptional data for R. decoloratus is currently lacking. Therefore, this study aimed at identifying genes that are shared between midgut tissues of feeding adult female R. microplus and R. decoloratus ticks. In this regard, a custom oligonucleotide microarray comprising of 13,477 R. microplus sequences was used for transcriptional profiling and 2476 genes were found to be shared between these Rhipicephalus species. In addition, 136 transcripts were found to be more abundantly expressed in R. decoloratus and 1084 in R. microplus. Chi-square analysis revealed that genes involved in lipid transport and metabolism are significantly overrepresented in R. microplus and R. decoloratus. This study is the first transcriptional profiling of R. decoloratus and is an additional resource that can be evaluated further in future studies for possible tick control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Willem A van Zyl
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Christian Stutzer
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Nicholas A Olivier
- Department of Plant Sciences, ACGT Microarray facility, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Christine Maritz-Olivier
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
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Adamson S, Browning R, Singh P, Nobles S, Villarreal A, Karim S. Transcriptional activation of antioxidants may compensate for selenoprotein deficiencies in Amblyomma maculatum (Acari: Ixodidae) injected with selK- or selM-dsRNA. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2014; 23:497-510. [PMID: 24698418 PMCID: PMC4107163 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
The Gulf-Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum, possesses an elaborate set of selenoproteins, which prevent the deleterious effects from oxidative stress that would otherwise occur during feeding. In the current work, we examined the role of selenoprotein K (SelK) and selenoprotein M (SelM) in feeding A. maculatum by bioinformatics, transcriptional gene expression, RNA interference and antioxidant assays. The transcriptional expression of SelK did not vary significantly in salivary glands or midguts throughout the bloodmeal. However, there was a 58-fold increase in transcript levels of SelM in tick midguts. Ticks injected with selK-dsRNA or selM-dsRNA did not reveal any observable differences in egg viability but oviposition was reduced. Surprisingly, salivary antioxidant activity was higher in selenoprotein knockouts compared with controls, which is probably the result of compensatory transcriptional expression of genes involved in combating reactive oxygen species. In fact, quantitative real-time PCR data suggest that the transcriptional expression of catalase increased in ticks injected with selM-double-stranded RNA. Additionally, the transcriptional expression of selN decreased ∼90% in both SelK/SelM knockdowns. These data indicate that SelK and SelM are salivary antioxidants but are not essential for tick survival or reproduction and are compensated by other antioxidant systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Adamson
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA
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Florin-Christensen M, Suarez CE, Rodriguez AE, Flores DA, Schnittger L. Vaccines against bovine babesiosis: where we are now and possible roads ahead. Parasitology 2014; 141:1-30. [PMID: 25068315 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182014000961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
SUMMARY Bovine babesiosis caused by the tick-transmitted haemoprotozoans Babesia bovis, Babesia bigemina and Babesia divergens commonly results in substantial cattle morbidity and mortality in vast world areas. Although existing live vaccines confer protection, they have considerable disadvantages. Therefore, particularly in countries where large numbers of cattle are at risk, important research is directed towards improved vaccination strategies. Here a comprehensive overview of currently used live vaccines and of the status quo of experimental vaccine trials is presented. In addition, pertinent research fields potentially contributing to the development of novel non-live and/or live vaccines are discussed, including parasite antigens involved in host cell invasion and in pathogen-tick interactions, as well as the protective immunity against infection. The mining of available parasite genomes is continuously enlarging the array of potential vaccine candidates and, additionally, the recent development of a transfection tool for Babesia can significantly contribute to vaccine design. However, the complication and high cost of vaccination trials hinder Babesia vaccine research, and have so far seriously limited the systematic examination of antigen candidates and prevented an in-depth testing of formulations using different immunomodulators and antigen delivery systems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Carlos E Suarez
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology,Washington State University,Pullman, WA 99164-7040,USA
| | - Anabel E Rodriguez
- Instituto de Patobiologia,CICVyA, INTA-Castelar, 1686 Hurlingham,Argentina
| | - Daniela A Flores
- Instituto de Patobiologia,CICVyA, INTA-Castelar, 1686 Hurlingham,Argentina
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Abstract
Scabies is an infectious disease that is endemic in poorly resourced communities, and also common in industrialized countries. Although the disease, which is caused by infestation of Sarcoptes scabiei, is generally mild, the need for a vaccine against S. scabiei is proposed. The immunological mechanisms that control S. scabiei infection are discussed and the current status of scabies vaccine development reviewed. Future directions for scabies vaccine development are also addressed.
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Functional and immunological relevance of Anaplasma marginale major surface protein 1a sequence and structural analysis. PLoS One 2013; 8:e65243. [PMID: 23776456 PMCID: PMC3679145 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0065243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2013] [Accepted: 04/22/2013] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Bovine anaplasmosis is caused by cattle infection with the tick-borne bacterium, Anaplasma marginale. The major surface protein 1a (MSP1a) has been used as a genetic marker for identifying A. marginale strains based on N-terminal tandem repeats and a 5′-UTR microsatellite located in the msp1a gene. The MSP1a tandem repeats contain immune relevant elements and functional domains that bind to bovine erythrocytes and tick cells, thus providing information about the evolution of host-pathogen and vector-pathogen interactions. Here we propose one nomenclature for A. marginale strain classification based on MSP1a. All tandem repeats among A. marginale strains were classified and the amino acid variability/frequency in each position was determined. The sequence variation at immunodominant B cell epitopes was determined and the secondary (2D) structure of the tandem repeats was modeled. A total of 224 different strains of A. marginale were classified, showing 11 genotypes based on the 5′-UTR microsatellite and 193 different tandem repeats with high amino acid variability per position. Our results showed phylogenetic correlation between MSP1a sequence, secondary structure, B-cell epitope composition and tick transmissibility of A. marginale strains. The analysis of MSP1a sequences provides relevant information about the biology of A. marginale to design vaccines with a cross-protective capacity based on MSP1a B-cell epitopes.
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Torrissen O, Jones S, Asche F, Guttormsen A, Skilbrei OT, Nilsen F, Horsberg TE, Jackson D. Salmon lice--impact on wild salmonids and salmon aquaculture. JOURNAL OF FISH DISEASES 2013; 36:171-94. [PMID: 23311858 PMCID: PMC3675643 DOI: 10.1111/jfd.12061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 167] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2012] [Revised: 10/15/2012] [Accepted: 10/17/2012] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Salmon lice, Lepeophtheirus salmonis, are naturally occurring parasites of salmon in sea water. Intensive salmon farming provides better conditions for parasite growth and transmission compared with natural conditions, creating problems for both the salmon farming industry and, under certain conditions, wild salmonids. Salmon lice originating from farms negatively impact wild stocks of salmonids, although the extent of the impact is a matter of debate. Estimates from Ireland and Norway indicate an odds ratio of 1.1:1-1.2:1 for sea lice treated Atlantic salmon smolt to survive sea migration compared to untreated smolts. This is considered to have a moderate population regulatory effect. The development of resistance against drugs most commonly used to treat salmon lice is a serious concern for both wild and farmed fish. Several large initiatives have been taken to encourage the development of new strategies, such as vaccines and novel drugs, for the treatment or removal of salmon lice from farmed fish. The newly sequenced salmon louse genome will be an important tool in this work. The use of cleaner fish has emerged as a robust method for controlling salmon lice, and aquaculture production of wrasse is important towards this aim. Salmon lice have large economic consequences for the salmon industry, both as direct costs for the prevention and treatment, but also indirectly through negative public opinion.
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Affiliation(s)
- O Torrissen
- Institute of Marine Research, Nordnes, Bergen, Norway.
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Imamura S, Konnai S, Yamada S, Parizi LF, Githaka N, Vaz IDS, Murata S, Ohashi K. Identification and partial characterization of a gut Rhipicephalus appendiculatus cystatin. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2012; 4:138-44. [PMID: 23265949 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2012.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2012] [Revised: 11/08/2012] [Accepted: 11/08/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Vaccines are among the alternative tick control methods expected to replace at least in part the volumes of chemical acaricides currently used worldwide. However, a vaccination approach depends on a host immune response against proteins that are essential to tick physiology. The cystatin family is a protein class recently investigated to compose an effective antigen in a tick vaccine. In this study, a cDNA from Rhipicephalus appendiculatus with high sequence similarity to cystatins type 2 was identified by random sequencing analysis and called R. appendiculatus cystatin 1 (Ra-cyst-1). DNA sequence analysis showed that the cloned Ra-cyst-1 has a 423-bp open reading frame and codified to a 140-amino acid polypeptide. The putative mature protein consists of 115 amino acid residues with a deduced molecular weight of 12.8kDa. The highly conserved G (P-I), QxVxG (P-II), and PW (P-III) type 2 cystatins motifs are present in Ra-cyst-1 cDNA. RT-PCR analysis showed that the Ra-cyst-1 gene is expressed in nymph, male, and female midgut following blood feeding, but not in the salivary glands of fed females. In addition, Western blot revealed that recombinant Ra-cyst-1 was not recognized by sera derived from rabbits infested with ticks, suggesting that this cystatin is not secreted into the host during infestation. We hypothesize that Ra-cyst-1 may play a role in the tick feeding process and could be a concealed antigen candidate in further anti-tick vaccination trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saiki Imamura
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
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