TICK IMMUNITY

Articles & Reviews:

Rolandelli A, Laukaitis-Yousey HJ, Bogale HN, Singh N, Samaddar S, O'Neal AJ, Ferraz CR, Butnaru M, Mameli E, Xia B, Mendes MT, Butler LR, Marnin L, Cabrera Paz FE, Valencia LM, Rana VS, Skerry C, Pal U, Mohr SE, Perrimon N, Serre D, Pedra JHF. Tick hemocytes have a pleiotropic role in microbial infection and arthropod fitness. Nat Commun. 2024 Mar 8;15(1):2117. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-46494-3. PMID: 38459063; PMCID: PMC10923820.

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Yas OB, Coleman AS, Lipman RM, Sharma K, Raghunandanan S, Alanazi F, Rana VS, Kitsou C, Yang X, Pal U. A systemic approach to identify non-abundant immunogenic proteins in Lyme disease pathogens.  mSystems (ahead of print), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.01087-23. 2023.

 

Narasimhan S, Fish D, Pedra JHF, Pal U, Fikrig E. A ticking time bomb hidden in plain sight. Sci Transl Med. 15(718):eadi7829. Review. 2023

 

Scott AJ, Smith AA, Heeren RMA, Pal U, Ernst RK. Characterization of spatial lipidomic signatures in tick-bitten guinea pig skin as a model for host-vector-pathogen interaction profiling. mSystems: e0092723. Online ahead of print. 2023

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Rana VS, Kitsou C, Dutta S, Ronzetti MH, Zhang M, Bernard Q, Smith AA, Tomás-Cortázar J, Yang X, Wu MJ, Kepple O, Li W, Dwyer JE, Matias J, Baljinnyam B, Oliver JD, Rajeevan N, Pedra JHF, Narasimhan S, Wang Y, Munderloh U, Fikrig E, Simeonov A, Anguita J, Pal U. Dome1-JAK-STAT signaling between parasite and host integrates vector immunity and development. Science. 2023 Jan 13;379(6628):eabl3837. doi: 10.1126/science.abl3837. PMID: 36634189.

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O'Neal AJ, Singh N, Rolandelli A, Laukaitis H, Wang X, Shaw DK, Young BD, Narasimhan S, Dutta S, Snyder GA, Samaddar S, Marnin L, Butler LR, Mendes MT, Paz FEC, Valencia LM, Sundberg EJ, Fikrig E, Pal U, Weber DJ, Pedra JHF. Croquemort Elicits Activation of the Immune Deficiency Pathway in Ticks. PNAS, in press. 2023. 

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De S, Kingan SB, Kitsou C, Portik DM, Foor SD, Frederick JC, Rana VS, Paulat NS, Ray DA, Wang Y, Glenn TC, Pal U. A high-quality Ixodes scapularis genome advances tick science. Nat Genet. 2023 Jan 19. doi: 10.1038/s41588-022-01275-w. [Full access to article: https://rdcu.be/c3M2V]

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Couret J, Schofield S, Narasimhan, S. The environment, the tick, and the pathogen – It is an ensemble. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2022 Nov 2;12. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1049646.

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Narasimhan S, Rajeevan N, Graham M, Wu MJ, DePonte K, Marion S, Masson O, O'Neal AJ, Pedra JHF, Sonenshine DE, Fikrig E. Tick transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi to the murine host is not influenced by environmentally acquired midgut microbiota. Microbiome. 2022 Oct 17;10(1):173. doi: 10.1186/s40168-022-01378-w. PMID: 36253842; PMCID: PMC9575305.

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Rana VS, Kitsou C, Dumler JS, Pal U. Immune evasion strategies of major tick-transmitted bacterial pathogens. Trends Microbiol. 2022 Aug 30:S0966-842X(22)00214-1. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2022.08.002. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36055896.

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Lynn GE, Černý J, Kurokawa C, Diktaş H, Matias J, Sajid A, Arora G, DePonte K, Narasimhan S, Fikrig E. Immunization of guinea pigs with cement extract induces resistance against Ixodes scapularis ticks. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2022 Aug 6;13(6):102017. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2022.102017. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35963188.

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Thakur M, Bista S, Foor SD, Dutta S, Yang X, Ronzetti M, Rana VS, Kitsou C, Linden SB, Altieri AS, Baljinnyam B, Nelson DC, Simeonov A, Pal U. Controlled Proteolysis of an Essential Virulence Determinant Dictates Infectivity of Lyme Disease Pathogens. Infect Immun. 2022 May 19;90(5):e0005922. doi: 10.1128/iai.00059-22. Epub 2022 Apr 13. PMID: 35416705.

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Matias J, Kurokawa C, Sajid A, Narasimhan S, Arora G, Diktas H, Lynn GE, DePonte K, Pardi N, Valenzuela JG, Weissman D, Fikrig E. Tick immunity using mRNA, DNA and protein-based Salp14 delivery strategies. Vaccine. 2021 Dec 20;39(52):7661-7668. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.11.003. Epub 2021 Nov 30. PMID: 34862075.

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Sajid A, Matias J, Arora G, Kurokawa C, DePonte K, Tang X, Lynn G, Wu MJ, Pal U, Strank NO, Pardi N, Narasimhan S, Weissman D, Fikrig E. mRNA vaccination induces tick resistance and prevents transmission of the Lyme disease agent. Sci Transl Med. 2021 Nov 17;13(620):eabj9827. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abj9827. Epub 2021 Nov 17. PMID: 34788080.

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Tang X, Cao Y, Arora G, Hwang J, Sajid A, Brown CL, Mehta S, Marín-López A, Chuang YM, Wu MJ, Ma H, Pal U, Narasimhan S, Fikrig E. The Lyme disease agent co-opts adiponectin receptor-mediated signaling in its arthropod vector. Elife. 2021 Nov 16;10:e72568. doi: 10.7554/eLife.72568. PMID: 34783654.

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Kitsou C, Foor SD, Dutta S, Bista S, Pal U. Tick gut barriers impacting tick-microbe interactions and pathogen persistence. Mol Microbiol. 2021 Nov;116(5):1241-1248. doi: 10.1111/mmi.14822. Epub 2021 Oct 6. PMID: 34570926.

 

Narasimhan S, Swei A, Abouneameh S, Pal U, Pedra JHF, Fikrig E. Grappling with the tick microbiome. Trends Parasitol. 2021 Aug;37(8):722-733. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2021.04.004. Epub 2021 May 4. PMID: 33962878.

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Kitsou C, Fikrig E, Pal U. Tick host immunity: vector immunomodulation and acquired tick resistance. Trends Immunol. 2021 Jul;42(7):554-574. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2021.05.005. Epub 2021 May 30. PMID: 34074602.

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Oliva Chávez AS, Wang X, Marnin L, Archer NK, Hammond HL, Carroll EEM, Shaw DK, Tully BG, Buskirk AD, Ford SL, Butler LR, Shahi P, Morozova K, Clement CC, Lawres L, Neal AJO, Mamoun CB, Mason KL, Hobbs BE, Scoles GA, Barry EM, Sonenshine DE, Pal U, Valenzuela JG, Sztein MB, Pasetti MF, Levin ML, Kotsyfakis M, Jay SM, Huntley JF, Miller LS, Santambrogio L, Pedra JHF.  Tick extracellular vesicles enable arthropod feeding and promote distinct outcomes of bacterial infection.  Nat Commun. 2021 Jun 17;12(1):3696. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-23900-8. PMID: 34140472.

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Narasimhan S, Kurokawa C, DeBlasio M, Matias J, Sajid A, Pal U, Lynn G, Fikrig E. Acquired tick resistance: The trail is hot. Parasite Immunol. 2021 May;43(5):e12808. doi: 10.1111/pim.12808. Epub 2020 Dec 15. PMID: 33187012.

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O'Neal AJ, Singh N, Mendes MT, Pedra JHF. The genus Anaplasma: drawing back the curtain on tick-pathogen interactions. Pathog Dis. 2021 Apr 22;79(5):ftab022. doi: 10.1093/femspd/ftab022. PMID: 33792663.

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Koči J, Bista S, Chirania P, Yang X, Kitsou C, Rana VS, Yas OB, Sonenshine DE, Pal U. Antibodies against EGF-like domains in Ixodes scapularis BM86 orthologs impact tick feeding and survival of Borrelia burgdorferi. Sci Rep. 2021 Mar 17;11(1):6095. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-85624-5. PMID: 33731754.

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Yang X, Koči J, Smith AA, Zhuang X, Sharma K, Dutta S, Rana VS, Kitsou C, Yas OB, Mongodin EF, Pal U. A novel tick protein supports integrity of gut peritrophic matrix impacting existence of gut microbiome and Lyme disease pathogens. Cell Microbiol. 2021 Feb; 23(2):e13275. doi: 10.1111/cmi.13275. PMID: 33006213.

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De S, Kitsou C, Sonenshine DE, Pedra JHF, Fikrig E, Kassis JA, Pal U. Epigenetic regulation of tick biology and vectorial capacity. Trends Genet. 2021 Jan;37(1):8-11. doi: 10.1016/j.tig.2020.09.012. Epub 2020 Oct 2. PMID: 33020021.

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Pal U, Kitsou C, Drecktrah D, Yaş ÖB, Fikrig E. Interactions Between Ticks and Lyme Disease Spirochetes. Curr Issues Mol Biol. 2021; 42:113-144. doi: 10.21775/cimb.042.113. Epub 2020 Dec 8. PMID: 33289683.

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Černý J, Lynn G, DePonte K, Ledizet M, Narasimhan S, Fikrig E. Fractionation of tick saliva reveals proteins associated with the development of acquired resistance to Ixodes scapularis. Vaccine. 2020 Dec 3;38(51):8121-8129. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.10.087. Epub 2020 Nov 7. PMID: 33168347.

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Cao Y, Rosen C, Arora G, Gupta A, Booth CJ, Murfin KE, Cerny J, Marin Lopez A, Chuang YM, Tang X, Pal U, Ring A, Narasimhan S, Fikrig E. An Ixodes scapularis Protein Disulfide Isomerase Contributes to Borrelia burgdorferi Colonization of the Vector. Infect Immun. 2020 Nov 16;88(12):e00426-20. doi: 10.1128/IAI.00426-20. Print 2020 Nov 16. PMID: 32928964.

 

Gupta A, Arora G, Rosen CE, Kloos Z, Cao Y, Cerny J, Sajid A, Hoornstra D, Golovchenko M, Rudenko N, Munderloh U, Hovius JW, Booth CJ, Jacobs-Wagner C, Palm NW, Ring AM, Fikrig E. A human secretome library screen reveals a role for Peptidoglycan Recognition Protein 1 in Lyme borreliosis. PLoS Pathog. 2020 Nov 11;16(11):e1009030. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009030. eCollection 2020 Nov. PMID: 33175909.

 

Kurokawa C, Narasimhan S, Vidyarthi A, Booth CJ, Mehta S, Meister L, Diktas H, Strank N, Lynn GE, DePonte K, Craft J, Fikrig E. Repeat tick exposure elicits distinct immune responses in guinea pigs and mice. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2020 Nov;11(6):101529. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101529. Epub 2020 Aug 2. PMID: 32993942.

 

O'Neal AJ, Butler LR, Rolandelli A, Gilk SD, Pedra JH. Lipid hijacking: a unifying theme in vector-borne diseases. Elife. 2020 Oct 29;9:e61675. doi: 10.7554/eLife.61675. PMID: 33118933.

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Samaddar S, Marnin L, Butler LR, Pedra JHF. Immunometabolism in Arthropod Vectors: Redefining Interspecies Relationships. Trends Parasitol. 2020 Oct;36(10):807-815. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2020.07.010. Epub 2020 Aug 18. PMID: 32819827.

 

Kurokawa C, Lynn GE, Pedra JHF, Pal U, Narasimhan S, Fikrig E. Interactions between Borrelia burgdorferi and ticks. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2020 Oct;18(10):587-600. doi: 10.1038/s41579-020-0400-5. Epub 2020 Jul 10. PMID: 32651470.

 

Yang X, Koči J, Smith AA, Zhuang X, Sharma K, Dutta S, Rana VS, Kitsou C, Yas OB, Mongodin EF, Pal U. A novel tick protein supports integrity of gut peritrophic matrix impacting existence of gut microbiome and Lyme disease pathogens. Cell Microbiol. 2020 Oct 1:e13275. doi: 10.1111/cmi.13275. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33006213.

 

Narasimhan S, Kurokawa C, Diktas H, Strank NO, Černý J, Murfin K, Cao Y, Lynn G, Trentleman J, Wu MJ, DePonte K, Kantor F, Anguita J, Hovius J, Fikrig E. Ixodes scapularis salivary components that elicit responses associated with acquired tick-resistance. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2020 May;11(3):101369. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2019.101369. Epub 2020 Jan 3. PMID: 31924502.

 

Marcinkiewicz AL, Lieknina I, Yang X, Lederman PL, Hart TM, Yates J, Chen WH, Bottazzi ME, Mantis NJ, Kraiczy P, Pal U, Tars K, Lin YP. The Factor H-Binding Site of CspZ as a Protective Target against Multistrain, Tick-Transmitted Lyme Disease. Infect Immun. 2020 Apr 20;88(5):e00956-19. doi: 10.1128/IAI.00956-19. PMID: 32122944; PMCID: PMC7171238.

 

Gomes-Solecki M, Arnaboldi PM, Backenson PB, Benach JL, Cooper CL, Dattwyler RJ, Diuk-Wasser M, Fikrig E, Hovius JW, Laegreid W, Lundberg U, Marconi RT, Marques AR, Molloy P, Narasimhan S, Pal U, Pedra JHF, Plotkin S, Rock DL, Rosa P, Telford SR, Tsao J, Yang XF, Schutzer SE. Protective Immunity and New Vaccines for Lyme Disease. Clin Infect Dis. 2020 Apr 10;70(8):1768-1773. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciz872. PMID: 31620776.

 

Bista S, Singh P, Bernard Q, Yang X, Hart T, Lin YP, Kitsou C, Singh Rana V, Zhang F, Linhardt RJ, Zhnag K, Akins DR, Hritzo L, Kim Y, Grab DJ, Dumler JS, Pal U. A Novel Laminin-Binding Protein Mediates Microbial-Endothelial Cell Interactions and Facilitates Dissemination of Lyme Disease Pathogens. J Infect Dis. 2020 Apr 7;221(9):1438-1447. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiz626. PMID: 31758693

 

Murfin KE, Kleinbard R, Aydin M, Salazar SA, Fikrig E. Borrelia burgdorferi chemotaxis toward tick protein Salp12 contributes to acquisition. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2019 Aug;10(5):1124-1134. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2019.06.002. Epub 2019 Jun 8. PMID: 31204044.

 

Chávez ASO, O'Neal AJ, Santambrogio L, Kotsyfakis M, Pedra JHF. Message in a vesicle - trans-kingdom intercommunication at the vector-host interface. J Cell Sci. 2019 Mar 18;132(6):jcs224212. doi: 10.1242/jcs.224212. PMID: 30886004; PMCID: PMC6451414.

 

Schutzer SE, Body BA, Boyle J, Branson BM, Dattwyler RJ, Fikrig E, Gerald NJ, Gomes-Solecki M, Kintrup M, Ledizet M, Levin AE, Lewinski M, Liotta LA, Marques A, Mead PS, Mongodin EF, Pillai S, Rao P, Robinson WH, Roth KM, Schriefer ME, Slezak T, Snyder JL, Steere AC, Witkowski J, Wong SJ, Branda JA. Direct Diagnostic Tests for Lyme Disease. Clin Infect Dis. 2019 Mar 5;68(6):1052-1057. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciy614. PMID: 30307486; PMCID: PMC6399434.

 

Coumou J, Wagemakers A, Narasimhan S, Schuijt TJ, Ersoz JI, Oei A, de Boer OJ, Roelofs JJTH, Fikrig E, Hovius JW. The role of Mannose Binding Lectin in the immune response against Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. Sci Rep. 2019 Feb 5;9(1):1431. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-37922-8. PMID: 30723261; PMCID: PMC6363739.

 

McClure Carroll EE, Wang X, Shaw DK, O'Neal AJ, Oliva Chávez AS, Brown LJ, Boradia VM, Hammond HL, Pedra JHF. p47 licenses activation of the immune deficiency pathway in the tick Ixodes scapularis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Jan 2;116(1):205-210. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1808905116. Epub 2018 Dec 17. PMID: 30559180; PMCID: PMC6320499.

 

Narasimhan S, Booth CJ, DePonte K, Wu MJ, Liang X, Mohanty S, Kantor F, Fikrig E. Host-specific expression of Ixodes scapularis salivary genes. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2019;10(2):386-97. Epub 2018 Dec 14. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2018.12.001. PMID: 30545615. 

 

Taank V, Zhou W, Zhuang X, Anderson JF, Pal U, Sultana H, Neelakanta G. Characterization of tick organic anion transporting polypeptides (OATPs) upon bacterial and viral infections. Parasit Vectors. 2018 Nov 14;11(1):593. doi: 10.1186/s13071-018-3160-6. PMID: 30428915; PMCID: PMC6236954.

 

Shaw DK, Tate AT, Schneider DS, Levashina EA, Kagan JC, Pal U, Fikrig E, Pedra JHF. Vector Immunity and Evolutionary Ecology: The Harmonious Dissonance. Trends Immunol. 2018 Nov;39(11):862-873. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2018.09.003. Epub 2018 Oct 6. PMID: 30301592; PMCID: PMC6218297.

 

Moss CE, Robson A, Fikrig E, Narasimhan S. Visualization of Microbiota in Tick Guts by Whole-mount In Situ Hybridization. J Vis Exp. 2018 Jun 1;(136):57758. doi: 10.3791/57758. PMID: 29912204; PMCID: PMC6101453.

 

 Smith AA, Yang X, Fikrig E, Pal U. Artificial Infection of Ticks with Borrelia burgdorferi Using a Microinjection Method and Their Detection In Vivo Using Quantitative PCR Targeting flaB RNA. Methods Mol Biol. 2018;1690:105-14. Epub 2017/10/17. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7383-5_9. PubMed PMID: 29032540.

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Book chapters:

Lynn G, Narasimhan S, Fikrig E.  Potential impacts of climate change on medically important tick species in North America. Chapter 22, in Climate, Ticks and disease. Ed, Nuttall P. 2021. doi: 10.1079/9781789249637.0021

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Kitsou C and Pal U. Vaccines against Vector-borne Diseases. Springer Protocol Book series: Methods in Molecular Biology, Springer Nature, 2021. In Press. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1888-2_16

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Pal U, Kitsou C, Drecktrah D, Büyüktanir O, Fikrig E. Interactions Between Ticks and Lyme Disease Spirochetes. In: Radolf JD and Samuels DS. Lyme Disease and Relapsing Fever Spirochetes: Genomics, Molecular Biology, Host Interactions and Disease Pathogenesis. Caister Academic Press; January 2021. Online ahead of print. doi: 10.21775/9781913652616.11.

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