Abstract
New tick and tick-borne pathogen control approaches that are both environmentally sustainable and which provide broad protection are urgently needed. Their development, however, will rely on a greater understanding of tick biology, tick-pathogen, and tick-host interactions. The recent advances in new generation technologies to study genomes, transcriptomes, and proteomes has resulted in a plethora of tick biomacromolecular studies. Among these, many enzyme inhibitors have been described, notably serine protease inhibitors (SPIs), whose importance in various tick biological processes is only just beginning to be fully appreciated. Among the multiple active substances secreted during tick feeding, SPIs have been shown to be directly involved in regulation of inflammation, blood clotting, wound healing, vasoconstriction and the modulation of host defense mechanisms. In light of these activities, several SPIs were examined and were experimentally confirmed to facilitate tick pathogen transmission. In addition, to prevent coagulation of the ingested blood meal within the tick alimentary canal, SPIs are also involved in blood digestion and nutrient extraction from the meal. The presence of SPIs in tick hemocytes and their involvement in tick innate immune defenses have also been demonstrated, as well as their implication in hemolymph coagulation and egg development. Considering the involvement of SPIs in multiple crucial aspects of tick-host-pathogen interactions, as well as in various aspects of the tick parasitic lifestyle, these molecules represent highly suitable and attractive targets for the development of effective tick control strategies. Here we review the current knowledge regarding this class of inhibitors in tick biology and tick-borne pathogen transmission, and their potential as targets for future tick control trials.
Highlights
Ticks are among the most common and important vectors of both human and animal pathogens worldwide including some parasites, bacteria and viruses (Dantas-Torres et al, 2012)
The aim of the present review is to summarize current knowledge concerning these tick serine protease inhibitor (tSPI), in order to highlight their role in tick biology, tickborne pathogens (TBP) transmission, and to identify putative targets which could contribute to effective tick and TBP control strategies
The goal of this review was to comprehensively describe the varied roles of tSPIs in both tick physiology and vertebrate host response modulation following tick bite, emphasizing their vital roles in tick-host-pathogen interactions. tSPIs are involved in essential processes such as tick’s innate immune system and hemolymph clotting
Summary
Ticks are among the most common and important vectors of both human and animal pathogens worldwide including some parasites, bacteria and viruses (Dantas-Torres et al, 2012). These obligate hematophagous arthropods are divided into two main families; soft and hard ticks. Whereas the soft—or Argasidae—ticks usually complete a blood meal in less than 1 h (Sonenshine and Anderson, 2014). During this feeding process, all ticks inject saliva and absorb blood alternately. Blood cells are lysed in the midgut lumen and, in contrast to other hematophagous arthropods, further digestion of proteins and other blood molecules occurs intracellularly, taking place within midgut epithelial cells
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