Lyme Disease: Biology, tick transmission, and vaccine developments

Kód výsledku v IS VaVaI

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Výsledek na webu

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DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

Lyme Disease: Biology, tick transmission, and vaccine developments

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

Ticks (chelicerates) are important vectors of diseases in humans and animals worldwide. While the Toll and IMD signaling pathways are well known regulators of innate immunity in Drosophila and blood-feeding insects, their role in ticks is still poorly understood. Here, we mapped and functionally characterized the Toll pathway in the European tick Ixodes ricinus, a vector of Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis virus. In contrast to Drosophila, where the Toll pathway primarily responds to Gram-positive bacteria, our results show that the Toll pathway in I. ricinus is activated by Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli), which is more similar to innate immune recognition patterns observed in mammals. In contrast, the tick IMD pathway exhibits signs of significant reduction. We have also investigated how this immune pathway interacts with the spirochete Borrelia afzelii and the apicomplexan parasite Babesia microti. We are currently developing innovative nanovaccine formulations that target surface proteins of these pathogens. By using multimeric carrier systems, we have achieved significantly higher antibody titers compared to conventional monomeric vaccines. Remarkably, these nanovaccines completely blocked the transmission of the pathogen from the tick to the host in our experimental models, underlining their great potential for future translational applications.

Název v anglickém jazyce

Lyme Disease: Biology, tick transmission, and vaccine developments

Popis výsledku anglicky

Ticks (chelicerates) are important vectors of diseases in humans and animals worldwide. While the Toll and IMD signaling pathways are well known regulators of innate immunity in Drosophila and blood-feeding insects, their role in ticks is still poorly understood. Here, we mapped and functionally characterized the Toll pathway in the European tick Ixodes ricinus, a vector of Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis virus. In contrast to Drosophila, where the Toll pathway primarily responds to Gram-positive bacteria, our results show that the Toll pathway in I. ricinus is activated by Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli), which is more similar to innate immune recognition patterns observed in mammals. In contrast, the tick IMD pathway exhibits signs of significant reduction. We have also investigated how this immune pathway interacts with the spirochete Borrelia afzelii and the apicomplexan parasite Babesia microti. We are currently developing innovative nanovaccine formulations that target surface proteins of these pathogens. By using multimeric carrier systems, we have achieved significantly higher antibody titers compared to conventional monomeric vaccines. Remarkably, these nanovaccines completely blocked the transmission of the pathogen from the tick to the host in our experimental models, underlining their great potential for future translational applications.

Druh

O - Ostatní výsledky

CEP obor

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OECD FORD obor

10606 - Microbiology

Projekt

Výsledek vznikl pri realizaci vícero projektů. Více informací v záložce Projekty.

Návaznosti

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Rok uplatnění

2025

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů