Abstract
ABSTRACTThe majority of ticks in the family Ixodidae secrete a substance anchoring their mouthparts to the host skin. This substance is termed cement. It has adhesive properties and seals the lesion during feeding. The particular chemical composition and the curing process of the cement are unclear. This review summarizes the literature, starting with a historical overview, briefly introducing the different hypotheses on the origin of the adhesive and how the tick salivary glands have been identified as its source. Details on the sequence of cement deposition, the curing process and detachment are provided. Other possible functions of the cement, such as protection from the host immune system and antimicrobial properties, are presented. Histochemical and ultrastructural data of the intracellular granules in the salivary gland cells, as well as the secreted cement, suggest that proteins constitute the main material, with biochemical data revealing glycine to be the dominant amino acid. Applied methods and their restrictions are discussed. Tick cement is compared with adhesives of other animals such as barnacles, mussels and sea urchins. Finally, we address the potential of tick cement for the field of biomaterial research and in particular for medical applications in future.
Highlights
There is general agreement that cement compounds originate from the tick paired salivary glands (Alarcon-Chaidez, 2014; Sonenshine & Roe, 2014) which undergo remarkable structural changes to act both as a secretory organ and fluid-transport system during feeding (Bowman, Ball & Sauer, 2008)
Correlative histochemical data are available on gland cell granules (Table 4) and the cement material (Table 5) for four different tick species (Haemaphysalis spinigera, Hyalomma anatolicum, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and R. microplus)
Two types of cement deposition can be distinguished (Fig. 4): (i) some species restrict the area of cement deposition close to the introduced mouthparts in the skin; (ii) many species secrete additional deposits of various dimensions onto the host surface
Summary
The different lifestyles of these animals have led to the evolution of adhesives with different chemical compositions and properties These gluing substances can solidify rapidly and bond to diverse surfaces, even under water (Flammang & Santos, 2015). Ticks (Ixodida) are subdivided into three families: Nuttalliellidae (one species), Argasidae (193 sp.) and Ixodidae (702 sp.) (Guglielmone et al, 2010) During their life cycle, they develop over successive egg, larva and nymph (up to eight in Argasidae) stages to adults (Oliver, 1989; Apanaskevich & Oliver, 2014). The presence of cement seems to be related to different tick feeding habits; nymphs and females of Nuttalliella namaqua (Mans et al, 2011) and most life stages in the Argasidae complete their blood meal within minutes to hours (Oliver, 1989; Apanaskevich & Oliver, 2014) and may not need additional anchorage. Cement is thought to be produced in all genera of this family with the only known exceptions being some species in the genus Ixodes (Kemp et al, 1982)
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