Wolbachia Impacts Anaplasma Infection in Ixodes scapularis Tick Cells.

Kalin M Skinner,Corey L Brelsfoard,Adela S Oliva Chavez,Jacob Underwood,Arnab Ghosh

doi:10.3390/ijerph19031051

Abstract

The specific interactions of members of tick bacterial microbiota and their effects on pathogen transmission remains relatively unexplored. Here, we introduced a novel Wolbachia infection type into Ixodes scapularis tick cells and examined the antipathogenic effects on the intracellular pathogen Anaplasma phagocytophilum. An increase in A. phagocytophilum replication was observed in Wolbachia-infected tick cells. However, Wolbachia infection densities decreased when cells were serially passaged and ultimately the infection was lost. Host-cell immune response was also examined as an additional factor that could have affected A. phagocytophilum replication in Wolbachia-infected cells. In early passages post-Wolbachia infection, a decreased immune response was observed, but in later passages of cells with low Wolbachia densities, there was no change in the immune response. The results are discussed in relation to the importance of studying the interactions of the tick microbiota, the host cell, and the pathogen and the development of novel tick and tick-borne disease-control approaches.

Highlights

IntroductionThe composition of native microbiota of ticks has been demonstrated to profoundly influence many aspects of tick biology, including the ability of ticks to transmit pathogens [3,4,5]
Ticks are a noteworthy vector of multiple human pathogens that result in diseases, including Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, rocky mountain spotted tick fever, southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI), and ehrlichiosis [1,2]
Naïve ISE6 cells were transfected with the walbB infection after two transfection procedures, as demonstrated by positive PCR tests in passages 0, 1, 2 & 3 post infection and Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) staining (Supplementary Figure S1 and Figure 1A,B)

Summary

Introduction

The composition of native microbiota of ticks has been demonstrated to profoundly influence many aspects of tick biology, including the ability of ticks to transmit pathogens [3,4,5]. Members of the bacterial microbiota include symbionts from several genera including: Lariskella, Arsenophornus, Sprioplasma, Rickettsia, Rickettsiella, Francisella, Midichloria, Coxiella, Cardinium, and Wolbachia [2,6,7,8]. We are beginning to appreciate that pathogen infection can alter the bacterial microbiota of ticks [4,6]. Little is known about the specific interactions of members of the bacterial microbiota of ticks and their impact on disease transmission [9,10]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion