Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-gvh9x Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-20T19:17:47.608Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Immune responses of the argasid tick Ornithodoros moubata moubata induced by infection with the filarial worm Acanthocheilonema viteae

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2024

D. Hutton ,
A.P. Reid  and
S. Townson
D. Hutton
Affiliation:
CABI Bioscience UK Centre (St Albans), 395A Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts AL4 0XU, UK
A.P. Reid
Affiliation:
CABI Bioscience UK Centre (St Albans), 395A Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts AL4 0XU, UK
S. Townson*
Affiliation:
CABI Bioscience UK Centre (St Albans), 395A Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts AL4 0XU, UK
*
*Address for correspondence: Tropical Parasitic Diseases Unit, Northwick Park Institute for Medical Research, Northwick Park and St Mark's Hospitals, Watford Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 3UJ, UK Fax: 020 8869 3270 E-mail: s.townson@ic.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Investigations were undertaken to determine whether the tick Ornithodoros moubata moubata mounted a detectable immune response to primary and secondary infections with Acanthocheilonema viteae. Uninfected control tick survival rate was 70%, but only 45% in the primary infection group. Post-secondary infection survival rate (82%) was comparable to controls, indicating that these selected ticks had some protective advantage. Mean A. viteae infective larvae recovery from ticks with secondary infections was 31.4% lower than expected, suggesting the development of immunity. SDS–PAGE of haemolymph for proteins induced post-primary infection yielded a stronger signal at 45 kDa than controls, which was further elevated post-secondary infection. Proteins at 48, 22 and 16 to 18 kDa were detected in haemolymph from infected ticks but not seen from controls. The direct effect of haemolymph on microfilarial viability was examined using a novel in vitro assay; in these preliminary trials no differences were observed in parasite viability when exposed to haemolymph from infected or uninfected groups of ticks.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 74 , Issue 3 , September 2000 , pp. 233 - 239
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2000

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Binnington, K.C. & Obenchain, F.D. (1982) Structure and function of the circulatory, nervous and neuroendocrine systems of ticks. pp. 351–398 in Physiology of ticks. Pergamon Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boman, H.G. & Hultmark, D. (1987) Cell-free immunity in insects. Annual Review of Microbiology 41, 103–126.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chalk, R., Townson, H., Natori, S., Desmond, H. & Ham, P.J. (1994) Purification of an insect defensin from the mosquito, Aedes aegypti . Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 24, 403–410.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chalk, R., Townson, H. & Ham, P.J. (1995) Brugia pahangi: the effects of cecropins on microfilariae in vitro and in Aedes aegypti . Experimental Parasitology 80, 401–406.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Croft, S.L., East, J.S. & Molyneux, D.H. (1982) Anti-trypanosomal factor in the haemolymph of Glossina . Acta Tropica 39, 293–302.Google ScholarPubMed
Grubhoffer, L., Veres, J. & Dusábek, F. (1991) Lectins as the molecular factors of recognition and defence reaction of ticks. pp. 381–388 in Modern acarology, Vol. 2. Prague, Academia, and The Hague, SPB Academic Publishing bv.Google Scholar
Ham, P.J., Zulu, M.B. & Zahedi, M. (1988) In vitro haemagglutination and attenuation of microfilarial motility by haemolymph from individual blackflies (Simulium ornatum) infected with Onchocerca lienalis . Medical and Veterinary Entomology 2, 7–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ham, P.J. (1992) Immunity in haematophagous insect vectors of parasitic infection. pp. 101–149 in Advances in disease vector research. New York, Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ham, P.J., Albuquerque, C., Baxter, A.J., Chalk, R. & Hagen, H.E. (1994) Approaches to vector control: new and trusted. 1. Humoral immune responses in blackfly and mosquito vectors of filariae. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 88, 132–135.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoffmann, J.A. (1995) Innate immunity of insects. Current Opinion in Immunology 7, 4–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lackie, A.M. (1988) Immune mechanisms in insects. Parasitology Today 4, 98–105.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E.F. & Maniatis, T. (1989) SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of proteins. pp. 18.47–18.57 in Molecular cloning. A laboratory manual. Cold Spring Harbor Publications.Google Scholar
Schwan, E.V., Hutton, D., Shields, K.J.B. & Townson, S. (1991) Artificial feeding and successful reproduction in Ornithodoros moubata moubata (Murray, 1877) (Acarina: Argasidae). Experimental and Applied Acarology 13, 107–115.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Singh, D.P., Chatterjee, R.K. & Sen, A.B. (1988) Studies on susceptibility of Ornithodoros moubata as a vector of Dipetalonema viteae . Journal of Communicable Diseases 20, 220–225.Google ScholarPubMed
Townson, H. & Chaithong, U. (1991) Mosquito host influences on development of filariae. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 85, 149–163.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Townson, S., Tagboto, S.K., Castro, J., Lujan, A., Awadzi, K. & Titanji, V.P.K. (1994) Comparison of the sensitivity of different geographical races of Onchocerca volvulus microfilariae to ivermectin: studies in vitro . Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 88, 101–106.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Veres, J. & Grubhoffer, L. (1990) Detection and partial characterisation of a new plasma lectin in the haemolymph of the tick Ornithodoros tartakovskyi . Microbios Letters 45, 61–64.Google Scholar