A multiepitope chimeric antigen from Rhipicephalus microplus-secreted salivary proteins elicits anti-tick protective antibodies in rabbit

Autor(es)

Costa, Gabriel C. A. ; Silva, Fernando A. A. ; Manzato, Veronica M. ; Torquato, Ricardo J. S. ; Gonzalez, Yamile G. ; Parizi, Luiz F. ; Vaz Junior, Itabajara da Silva ; Tanaka, Aparecida S.

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Veterinary Parasitology; v. 318, p. 11-pg., 2023-04-13.

Resumo

Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, the Cattle Fever Tick, causes significant economic losses in livestock in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. As the usual control strategy based on chemical acaricides presents different drawbacks, alternative control strategies have been considered for tick control. In recent decades, several tick proteins have been evaluated as targets for the development of anti-tick vaccines. Thus, in the present work, coding sequences from three different proteins present in tick saliva were employed together to construct a recombinant chimeric protein that was evaluated as an antigen in rabbit immunization. Then, the elicited antibodies were tested in a tick artificial feeding experiment to verify the protective effect against the parasites. In addition to Rhipicephalus microplus subtilisin inhibitor 7 (RmSI-7), a serine protease inhibitor member of the TIL (Trypsin Inhibitory Like) family, an interdomain region from the Kunitz inhibitor BmTI-A, and a new cysteine-rich AMP-like microplusin, called RmSEI (previously identified as an elastase inhibitor), were selected to compose the chimeric protein. Anti-chimeric IgG antibodies were able to affect R. microplus female egg production after artificial feeding. Moreover, antibodies elicited in infested tick-resistant and tick-susceptible cattle recognized the recombinant chimera. Additionally, the functional characterization of recombinant RmSEI was performed and revealed antimicrobial activity against gram-positive bacteria. Moreover, the antimicrobial protein was also recognized by antibodies elicited in sera from cattle previously exposed to R. microplus bites. Together, these data suggest that the chimeric protein composed of three salivary antigens is suitable for anti-tick vaccine development. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 20/02433-5 - Construção de uma biblioteca de fragmentos de cDNA de enzimas proteolíticas (peptidases) e serpinas de R. microplus na superfície de fagos filamentosos
• Beneficiário: Gabriel Cerqueira Alves Costa
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado
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• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático
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• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático
• Processo FAPESP: 12/20597-9 - Interação de proteases de Babesia bovis, um dos agentes da tristeza parasitária bovina, com inibidores de carrapato Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, e o seu potencial vacinal.
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• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado
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• Beneficiário: Stephen Lu
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado