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Bencosme-Cuevas E, Kim TK, Nguyen TT, Berry J, Li J, Adams LG, Smith LA, Batool SA, Swale DR, Kaufmann SHE, Jones-Hall Y, Mulenga A. Ixodes scapularis nymph saliva protein blocks host inflammation and complement-mediated killing of Lyme disease agent, Borrelia burgdorferi. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1253670. [PMID: 37965264 PMCID: PMC10641286 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1253670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Tick serine protease inhibitors (serpins) play crucial roles in tick feeding and pathogen transmission. We demonstrate that Ixodes scapularis (Ixs) nymph tick saliva serpin (S) 41 (IxsS41), secreted by Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb)-infected ticks at high abundance, is involved in regulating tick evasion of host innate immunity and promoting host colonization by Bb. Recombinant (r) proteins were expressed in Pichia pastoris, and substrate hydrolysis assays were used to determine. Ex vivo (complement and hemostasis function related) and in vivo (paw edema and effect on Bb colonization of C3H/HeN mice organs) assays were conducted to validate function. We demonstrate that rIxsS41 inhibits chymase and cathepsin G, pro-inflammatory proteases that are released by mast cells and neutrophils, the first immune cells at the tick feeding site. Importantly, stoichiometry of inhibition analysis revealed that 2.2 and 2.8 molecules of rIxsS41 are needed to 100% inhibit 1 molecule of chymase and cathepsin G, respectively, suggesting that findings here are likely events at the tick feeding site. Furthermore, chymase-mediated paw edema, induced by the mast cell degranulator, compound 48/80 (C48/80), was blocked by rIxsS41. Likewise, rIxsS41 reduced membrane attack complex (MAC) deposition via the alternative and lectin complement activation pathways and dose-dependently protected Bb from complement killing. Additionally, co-inoculating C3H/HeN mice with Bb together with rIxsS41 or with a mixture (rIxsS41 and C48/80). Findings in this study suggest that IxsS41 markedly contributes to tick feeding and host colonization by Bb. Therefore, we conclude that IxsS41 is a potential candidate for an anti-tick vaccine to prevent transmission of the Lyme disease agent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Bencosme-Cuevas
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Tae Kwon Kim
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United States
| | - Thu-Thuy Nguyen
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Jacquie Berry
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Jianrong Li
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Leslie Garry Adams
- Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | | | | | - Daniel R. Swale
- Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Stefan H. E. Kaufmann
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
- Hagler Institute for Advanced Study, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
- Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Yava Jones-Hall
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Albert Mulenga
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
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Bonin S, Tothova SM, Barbazza R, Brunetti D, Stanta G, Trevisan G. Evidence of multiple infectious agents in mycosis fungoides lesions. Exp Mol Pathol 2010; 89:46-50. [PMID: 20470773 DOI: 10.1016/j.yexmp.2010.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2009] [Revised: 05/05/2010] [Accepted: 05/05/2010] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The etiology of mycosis fungoides (MF) remains to be determined. Several studies have proposed a viral etiology with controversial results. In this case-control study we investigated the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and the debated presence of Human T-cell lymphotrophic virus I (HTLV-I) sequences, by polymerase chain reaction on nucleic acid extracts from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded skin biopsies. Moreover, by a multivariate approach we analyzed in the same case-control study also the contribution of two previously examined pathogens: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb). Significant differences in the frequency of infectious agents in cases and controls were detected for Bb, HTLV-I and EBV. In MF patients we found the concurrent presence of two or three of these pathogen sequences in 21 out of 83 cases, but only in 1 out of 83 healthy controls. Our results suggest that the persistence of multiple infectious agents may cause a long-term antigenic stimulation contributing to the malignant transformation of T lymphocytes, especially when associated with HTLV-I like sequences. However, these infectious agents do not seem to have effects on disease progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serena Bonin
- ACADEM Department, Unit of Dermatology, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
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Tothova SM, Bonin S, Trevisan G, Stanta G. Mycosis fungoides: is it a Borrelia burgdorferi-associated disease? Br J Cancer 2006; 94:879-83. [PMID: 16495924 PMCID: PMC2361364 DOI: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6602997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Mycosis fungoides (MF) is the most frequently found cutaneous T-cell lymphoma with an unknown aetiology. Several aetiopathogenetic mechanisms have been postulated, including persistent viral or bacterial infections. We looked for evidence of Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), the aetiologic agent of Lyme disease (LD), in a case study of MF patients from Northeastern Italy, an area with endemic LD. Polymerase chain reaction for the flagellin gene of Bb was used to study formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded lesional skin biopsies from 83 patients with MF and 83 sex- and age-matched healthy controls with homolocalised cutaneous nevi. Borrelia burgdorferi-specific sequence was detected in 15 out of 83 skin samples of patients with MF (18.1%), but in none out of 83 matched healthy controls (P<0.0001). The Bb positivity rates detected in this study support a possible role for Bb in the aetiopathogenesis of MF in a population endemic for LD.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Miertusova Tothova
- ICGEB – International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, 99 Padriciano, Trieste 34012, Italy
| | - S Bonin
- ICGEB – International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, 99 Padriciano, Trieste 34012, Italy
- Department of Clinical, Morphological and Technological Sciences, University of Trieste, 1-Dermatology Unit, 2-Pathology Unit, Cattinara Hospital, 447 Strada di Fiume, Trieste 34149, Italy
| | - G Trevisan
- Department of Clinical, Morphological and Technological Sciences, University of Trieste, 1-Dermatology Unit, 2-Pathology Unit, Cattinara Hospital, 447 Strada di Fiume, Trieste 34149, Italy
| | - G Stanta
- ICGEB – International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, 99 Padriciano, Trieste 34012, Italy
- Department of Clinical, Morphological and Technological Sciences, University of Trieste, 1-Dermatology Unit, 2-Pathology Unit, Cattinara Hospital, 447 Strada di Fiume, Trieste 34149, Italy
- ICGEB – International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, 99 Padriciano, Trieste 34012, Italy. E-mail:
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