Evaluation of tick salivary and midgut extracellular vesicles as anti-tick vaccines in White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus).

Current tick control measures are focused on the use of synthetic acaricides and personal protective measures. However, the emergence of acaricide resistance and the maintenance of tick populations in wildlife has precluded the efficient management of ticks. Thus, host-targeted, non-chemical control measures are needed to reliably reduce ticks parasitizing sylvatic reservoirs.

Transmission Activates Immune Pathways While Repressing Wound Healing in the Skin.

the causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), is an obligate intracellular bacterium transmitted by the bite of black-legged ticks, . The main host cells in vertebrates are neutrophils. However, the first site of entry is in the skin during tick feeding.

Isolation of microRNAs from Tick Ex Vivo Salivary Gland Cultures and Extracellular Vesicles.

Ticks are important ectoparasites that can vector multiple pathogens. The salivary glands of ticks are essential for feeding as their saliva contains many effectors with pharmaceutical properties that can diminish host immune responses and enhance pathogen transmission. One group of such effectors are microRNAs (miRNAs).