Exploring immunogenicity of tick salivary AV422 protein in persons exposed to ticks: prospects for utilization
| Autor: | Snežana Tomanović, Darko Mihaljica, Bojan Đ. Božić, Dragana Marković, Željko Radulović, Elizabeta Ristanovic, Jelena Repac, Dimosthenis Chochlakis, Gorana Veinović, Biljana Božić Nedeljković, Ratko Sukara |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Ixodes ricinus
030231 tropical medicine Tick Epitope Tick saliva protein 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Antigen Seroepidemiologic Studies Borrelia parasitic diseases Animals Humans Humoral immune response Rickettsia Salivary Proteins and Peptides AV422 030304 developmental biology 0303 health sciences Ixodes Ecology biology Immunogenicity Immunoinformatics General Medicine biology.organism_classification bacterial infections and mycoses Virology Tick Infestations 3. Good health Molecular Docking Simulation Tick-Borne Diseases Animal ecology Insect Science |
| Zdroj: | Experimental and Applied Acarology |
| Popis: | In order to determine whether conserved tick salivary protein AV422 is immunogenic, the goal of our study was to detect specific IgG response within at-risk populations. Study groups included 76 individuals, differing in occurrence of recently recorded tick bites and health status. Western blotting with recombinant (r) protein derived from Ixodes ricinus (Ir) was performed. IgG response to Borrelia/Rickettsia, as indicators of previous tick infestations, was also assessed. Additionally, a detailed in silico AV422 protein sequence analysis was performed, followed by modelling of the interactions between peptides and corresponding MHC II molecules by molecular docking. Anti-rIrAV422 seroprevalences among individuals exposed to ticks were high (62.5, 57.9 and 66.7%) and anti-Borrelia/Rickettsia seroprevalences were 54.2, 15.8 and 44.4% among individuals with/without recent tick bite and patients suspected of tick-borne disease, respectively. In silico analysis of AV422 protein sequence showed a high level of conservation across tick genera, including also the predicted antigenic determinants specific for T and B cells. Docking to the restricted MHC II molecules was performed for all predicted AV422 T cell epitopes, and the most potent (highly immunogenic) epitope determinants were suggested. The epitope prediction reveals that tick salivary protein AV422 may elicit humoral immune response in humans, which is consistent with the high anti-rIrAV422 seroprevalence in tested at-risk subjects. Tick-borne diseases are a growing public health concern worldwide, and AV422 is potentially useful in clinical practice and epidemiological studies. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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