de Silva Aravinda Manu, Tyson Katharine Rose, Pal Utpal
Department of Microbiology and Immunology University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
Front Biosci (Landmark Ed). 2009 Jan 1;14(8):3051-63. doi: 10.2741/3434.
Spirochetes in the genus Borrelia are responsible for tick-borne relapsing fever and Lyme disease. Borrelia-tick interactions are highly specific as each species of Borrelia is only transmitted by one or a few closely related species of ticks. Borrelia colonize the gut or salivary glands of ticks. Several Borrelia genes required for tick colonization or transmission have been identified. Borrelia genes required for transmission are induced by a pathway controlled by the alternate sigma factors RpoN (?54) and RpoS (?S). A protein in the gut of I. scapularis ticks that functions as a receptor for B. burgdorferi has been identified. In addition, Ixodes tick saliva has proteins that alter host hemostasis and immunity, and some of these salivary proteins directly interact with Borrelia to facilitate transmission and host infection, whereas others appear to assist Borrelia indirectly by suppressing host defense mechanisms. The exciting discoveries on Borrelia-tick interactions are also being translated into novel preventive measures such as transmission blocking vaccines.
疏螺旋体属的螺旋体是蜱传回归热和莱姆病的病原体。伯氏疏螺旋体与蜱的相互作用具有高度特异性，因为每种伯氏疏螺旋体仅由一种或几种密切相关的蜱传播。伯氏疏螺旋体定殖于蜱的肠道或唾液腺。已经鉴定出几种蜱定殖或传播所需的伯氏疏螺旋体基因。传播所需的伯氏疏螺旋体基因由由替代西格玛因子RpoN（σ54）和RpoS（σS）控制的途径诱导。已鉴定出肩突硬蜱肠道中一种作为伯氏疏螺旋体受体的蛋白质。此外，硬蜱唾液中有改变宿主止血和免疫的蛋白质，其中一些唾液蛋白直接与伯氏疏螺旋体相互作用以促进传播和宿主感染，而其他一些似乎通过抑制宿主防御机制间接协助伯氏疏螺旋体。关于伯氏疏螺旋体与蜱相互作用的激动人心的发现也正在转化为新的预防措施，如传播阻断疫苗。
