In their quest for blood, most haematophagous parasites secrete vasodilators in their saliva to counter the host haemostatic response of vasoconstriction. Surprisingly, salivary gland extracts from adult female Dermacentor reticulatus and Rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks induced constriction in a rat femoral artery model; males induced vasoconstriction or vasodilation depending on the time of feeding. Based on comparative HPLC fractionation, the active compounds inducing vasoconstriction do not appear to be prostaglandins (which ticks normally use as vasodilators).
View Article and Find Full Text PDF