Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Immunology logoLink to Immunology
. 1994 May;82(1):113–116.

Salivary gland extracts of partially fed Dermacentor reticulatus ticks decrease natural killer cell activity in vitro.

M Kubes 1, N Fuchsberger 1, M Labuda 1, E Zuffová 1, P A Nuttall 1
PMCID: PMC1414839  PMID: 8045588

Abstract

The salivary glands and saliva of ticks (Arachnida, Acari, Ixodida) play a vital role in blood feeding, including manipulation of the host's immune response to tick infestation. Furthermore, a diverse number of tick-borne pathogens are transmitted to vertebrate hosts via tick saliva. A factor synthesized in the salivary glands of feeding ticks potentiates the transmission of certain tick-borne viruses. We show that salivary gland extracts (SGE) derived from Dermacentor reticulatus female ticks fed for 6 days on laboratory mice (SGED6) induced a decrease in the natural killer (NK) activity of effector cells obtained from 16 healthy blood donors. The decreased activity ranged from 14 to 69% of NK activity observed with the respective untreated effector cells. Such a decrease was not observed after treatment of effector cells with SGE from unfed ticks. Ten-fold dilution of SGED6 significantly reduced the capacity to decrease NK activity and a further 10-fold dilution almost eliminated the effect. After addition of IFN-alpha 2, the SGED6-induced decrease in NK activity was restored to activity levels approaching those of untreated cells. The apparent reversibility of the inhibition indicates that the effect of SGED6 on NK activity was not due to cytotoxicity. The results demonstrate the presence of a factor(s) in the salivary gland products of feeding D. reticulatus female ticks that influences human NK activity in vitro. These data suggest a possible mechanism by which tick SGE potentiates the transmission of some tick-borne viruses through suppression of NK activity.

Full text

PDF
113

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Cantell K., Hirvonen S., Mogensen K. E., Pyhälä L. Human leukocyte interferon: production, purification, stability, and animal experiments. In Vitro Monogr. 1974;(3):35–38. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Ciccone E., Pende D., Viale O., Than A., Di Donato C., Orengo A. M., Biassoni R., Verdiani S., Amoroso A., Moretta A. Involvement of HLA class I alleles in natural killer (NK) cell-specific functions: expression of HLA-Cw3 confers selective protection from lysis by alloreactive NK clones displaying a defined specificity (specificity 2). J Exp Med. 1992 Oct 1;176(4):963–971. doi: 10.1084/jem.176.4.963. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Dickinson R. G., O'Hagan J. E., Schotz M., Binnington K. C., Hegarty M. P. Prostaglandin in the saliva of the cattle tick Boophilus microplus. Aust J Exp Biol Med Sci. 1976 Oct;54(5):475–486. doi: 10.1038/icb.1976.48. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Herberman R. B., Ortaldo J. R. Natural killer cells: their roles in defenses against disease. Science. 1981 Oct 2;214(4516):24–30. doi: 10.1126/science.7025208. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Jones L. D., Davies C. R., Steele G. M., Nuttall P. A. A novel mode of arbovirus transmission involving a nonviremic host. Science. 1987 Aug 14;237(4816):775–777. doi: 10.1126/science.3616608. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Jones L. D., Kaufman W. R., Nuttall P. A. Modification of the skin feeding site by tick saliva mediates virus transmission. Experientia. 1992 Aug 15;48(8):779–782. doi: 10.1007/BF02124302. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kaufman W. R. Tick-host interaction: a synthesis of current concepts. Parasitol Today. 1989 Feb;5(2):47–56. doi: 10.1016/0169-4758(89)90191-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Labuda M., Jones L. D., Williams T., Danielova V., Nuttall P. A. Efficient transmission of tick-borne encephalitis virus between cofeeding ticks. J Med Entomol. 1993 Jan;30(1):295–299. doi: 10.1093/jmedent/30.1.295. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Labuda M., Jones L. D., Williams T., Nuttall P. A. Enhancement of tick-borne encephalitis virus transmission by tick salivary gland extracts. Med Vet Entomol. 1993 Apr;7(2):193–196. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2915.1993.tb00674.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Labuda M., Nuttall P. A., Kozuch O., Elecková E., Williams T., Zuffová E., Sabó A. Non-viraemic transmission of tick-borne encephalitis virus: a mechanism for arbovirus survival in nature. Experientia. 1993 Sep 15;49(9):802–805. doi: 10.1007/BF01923553. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lozzio C. B., Lozzio B. B. Human chronic myelogenous leukemia cell-line with positive Philadelphia chromosome. Blood. 1975 Mar;45(3):321–334. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Ramachandra R. N., Wikel S. K. Modulation of host-immune responses by ticks (Acari: Ixodidae): effect of salivary gland extracts on host macrophages and lymphocyte cytokine production. J Med Entomol. 1992 Sep;29(5):818–826. doi: 10.1093/jmedent/29.5.818. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ribeiro J. M. Ixodes dammini: salivary anti-complement activity. Exp Parasitol. 1987 Dec;64(3):347–353. doi: 10.1016/0014-4894(87)90046-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Ribeiro J. M., Makoul G. T., Levine J., Robinson D. R., Spielman A. Antihemostatic, antiinflammatory, and immunosuppressive properties of the saliva of a tick, Ixodes dammini. J Exp Med. 1985 Feb 1;161(2):332–344. doi: 10.1084/jem.161.2.332. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Robertson M. J., Ritz J. Biology and clinical relevance of human natural killer cells. Blood. 1990 Dec 15;76(12):2421–2438. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Shaw M. K., Tilney L. G., McKeever D. J. Tick salivary gland extract and interleukin-2 stimulation enhance susceptibility of lymphocytes to infection by Theileria parva sporozoites. Infect Immun. 1993 Apr;61(4):1486–1495. doi: 10.1128/iai.61.4.1486-1495.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Titus R. G., Ribeiro J. M. The role of vector saliva in transmission of arthropod-borne disease. Parasitol Today. 1990 May;6(5):157–160. doi: 10.1016/0169-4758(90)90338-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Immunology are provided here courtesy of British Society for Immunology

RESOURCES