Inhibiting autophagy increases the efficacy of low-dose photodynamic therapy.

Rupture and permeabilization of endocytic vesicles can be triggered by various causes, such as pathogenic invasions, amyloid proteins, and silica crystals leading to cell death and degeneration. A cellular quality control process, called lysophagy was recently described to target damaged lysosomes for autophagic sequestration within isolation membranes in order to protect the cell from the consequences of lysosomal leakage. This protective process, however, might interfere with treatment conditions, such as photodynamic therapy (PDT) and the intracellular drug delivery method photochemical internalization (PCI).

Microscopic Visualisation of Zoonotic Arbovirus Replication in Tick Cell and Organ Cultures Using Semliki Forest Virus Reporter Systems.

Ticks are vectors and reservoirs of many arboviruses pathogenic for humans or domestic animals; in addition, during bloodfeeding they can acquire and harbour pathogenic arboviruses normally transmitted by other arthropods such as mosquitoes. Tick cell and organ cultures provide convenient tools for propagation and study of arboviruses, both tick-borne and insect-borne, enabling elucidation of virus-tick cell interaction and yielding insight into the mechanisms behind vector competence and reservoir potential for different arbovirus species. The mosquito-borne zoonotic alphavirus Semliki Forest virus (SFV), which replicates well in tick cells, has been isolated from , , and spp.

Development of resistance to photodynamic therapy (PDT) in human breast cancer cells is photosensitizer-dependent: Possible mechanisms and approaches for overcoming PDT-resistance.

Here we report on the induction of resistance to photodynamic therapy (PDT) in the ABCG2-high human breast cancer cell line MA11 after repetitive PDT, using either Pheophorbide A (PhA) or di-sulphonated meso-tetraphenylchlorin (TPCS) as photosensitizer. Resistance to PhA-PDT was associated with enhanced expression of the efflux pump ABCG2. TPCS-PDT-resistance was neither found to correspond with lower TPCS-accumulation nor reduced generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes ricinus tick cell lines respond to infection with tick-borne encephalitis virus: transcriptomic and proteomic analysis.

Background: Ixodid ticks are important vectors of a wide variety of viral, bacterial and protozoan pathogens of medical and veterinary importance. Although several studies have elucidated tick responses to bacteria, little is known about the tick response to viruses. To gain insight into the response of tick cells to flavivirus infection, the transcriptomes and proteomes of two Ixodes spp cell lines infected with the flavivirus tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) were analysed.

Integrated Metabolomics, Transcriptomics and Proteomics Identifies Metabolic Pathways Affected by Anaplasma phagocytophilum Infection in Tick Cells.

Anaplasma phagocytophilum is an emerging zoonotic pathogen that causes human granulocytic anaplasmosis. These intracellular bacteria establish infection by affecting cell function in both the vertebrate host and the tick vector, Ixodes scapularis. Previous studies have characterized the tick transcriptome and proteome in response to A.

Identification and Characterization of Anaplasma phagocytophilum Proteins Involved in Infection of the Tick Vector, Ixodes scapularis.

Anaplasma phagocytophilum is an emerging zoonotic pathogen transmitted by Ixodes scapularis that causes human granulocytic anaplasmosis. Here, a high throughput quantitative proteomics approach was used to characterize A. phagocytophilum proteome during rickettsial multiplication and identify proteins involved in infection of the tick vector, I.

Induction and suppression of tick cell antiviral RNAi responses by tick-borne flaviviruses.

Arboviruses are transmitted by distantly related arthropod vectors such as mosquitoes (class Insecta) and ticks (class Arachnida). RNA interference (RNAi) is the major antiviral mechanism in arthropods against arboviruses. Unlike in mosquitoes, tick antiviral RNAi is not understood, although this information is important to compare arbovirus/host interactions in different classes of arbovirus vectos.

Tick capillary feeding for the study of proteins involved in tick-pathogen interactions as potential antigens for the control of tick infestation and pathogen infection.

Background: Ticks represent a significant health risk to animals and humans due to the variety of pathogens they can transmit during feeding. The traditional use of chemicals to control ticks has serious drawbacks, including the selection of acaricide-resistant ticks and environmental contamination with chemical residues. Vaccination with the tick midgut antigen BM86 was shown to be a good alternative for cattle tick control.

Gene silencing in tick cell lines using small interfering or long double-stranded RNA.

Gene silencing by RNA interference (RNAi) is an important research tool in many areas of biology. To effectively harness the power of this technique in order to explore tick functional genomics and tick-microorganism interactions, optimised parameters for RNAi-mediated gene silencing in tick cells need to be established. Ten cell lines from four economically important ixodid tick genera (Amblyomma, Hyalomma, Ixodes and Rhipicephalus including the sub-species Boophilus) were used to examine key parameters including small interfering RNA (siRNA), double stranded RNA (dsRNA), transfection reagent and incubation time for silencing virus reporter and endogenous tick genes.