Tick feeding or vaccination with tick antigens elicits immunity to the <i>Ixodes scapularis</i> exoproteome in guinea pigs and humans
<i>Ixodes scapularis</i> is a primary vector of tick-borne pathogens in North America. Repeated exposure to these ticks can induce a humoral response to tick antigens and acquired tick resistance. However, identifying antigens contributing to this resistance is challenging because of the vast number of <i>I. scapularis</i> proteins secreted during feeding. To address this, we developed <i>I. scapularis</i> rapid extracellular antigen monitoring (<i>Isc</i>REAM), a technique to detect antibody responses to more than 3000 tick antigens. We validated <i>Isc</i>REAM with immunoglobulin G (IgG) from guinea pigs vaccinated with tick antigens, including a cement antigen cocktail that induced tick resistance. Furthermore, we explored the natural response to tick bites by profiling antigens recognized by IgG isolated from a tick-resistant individual, as well as from others with Lyme disease and tick-bitten guinea pigs and mice, to identify 199 recognized antigens. We observed that several antigens contained histamine-binding domains. This work enhances our understanding of the host immune response to <i>I. scapularis</i> and defines immunogen candidates for future antitick vaccines.
Authors
- Jaqueline Matias (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8056-2825)
- Joppe W. Hovius (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0066-2437)
- Sam R. Telford (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4548-8663)
- Yingjun Cui (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7416-0934)
- Jillian R. Jaycox (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0919-5679)
- Balasubramanian Cibichakravarthy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2814-8870)
- Erol Fikrig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5884-6047)
- Linda K. Bockenstedt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9349-8757)
- Yile Dai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7761-3361)
- Alejandro Marín-López (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2840-1722)
- Garima Dwivedi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6101-2481)
- Aaron M. Ring (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3699-2446)
- Thomas Hart (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5949-9932)
- Drew Weissman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1501-6510)
- Alexia A. Belperron (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1734-8025)
- Mohamad‐Gabriel Alameh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5672-6930)
- Kathleen DePonte
- Dieuwertje Hoornstra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0347-2049)
- Melody DeBlasio
- Emily E. Johnson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8189-8788)
- Keith Calloway
Institutions
- Tufts University (US)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- Yale University (US)
- Fred Hutch Cancer Center (US)
- Netherlands Center for Occupational Diseases (NL)
- Penn Center for AIDS Research (US)
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- University of Amsterdam (NL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Translational Medicine
- Published
- 2025-03-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.ads9207
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Vector-borne infectious diseases
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 10.24