The Food and Environment Research Agency, Sand Hutton, York YO41 1LZ, UK.
Parasitology. 2011 Apr;138(5):602-8. doi: 10.1017/S0031182011000072. Epub 2011 Feb 1.
The ectoparasitic honey bee mite Varroa destructor feeds on the haemolymph of the honey bee, Apis mellifera, through a single puncture wound that does not heal but remains open for several days. It was hypothesized that factors in the varroa saliva are responsible for this aberrant wound healing.
An in vitro procedure was developed for collecting salivary gland secretions from V. destructor. Mites were incubated on balls of cotton wool soaked in a tissue culture medium (TC-100), and then induced to spit by topical application of an ethanolic pilocarpine solution.
Elution of secretions from balls of cotton wool, followed by electrophoretic analysis by SDS-PAGE and electroblotting indicated the presence of at least 15 distinct protein bands, with molecular weights ranging from 130 kDa to <17 kDa. Serial titration of V. destructor salivary secretions in TC-100 followed by an 18-h incubation with haemocytes from the caterpillar, Lacanobia oleracea, indicated that the secretions damage the haemocytes and suppresses their ability to extend pseudopods and form aggregates.
We suggest that these secretions facilitate the ability of V. destructor to feed repeatedly off their bee hosts by suppressing haemocyte-mediated wound healing and plugging responses in the host.
寄生性的蜜蜂体外寄生虫瓦螨通过一个单一的穿刺伤口吸食蜜蜂的血淋巴，这个伤口不会愈合，而是会持续开放数天。有人假设，瓦螨唾液中的某些因素是导致这种异常伤口愈合的原因。
开发了一种从瓦螨收集唾液腺分泌物的体外程序。将螨虫在浸有组织培养基（TC-100）的棉花球上孵育，然后通过局部涂抹乙醇毛果芸香碱溶液来诱导它们吐口水。
从棉花球上洗脱分泌物，然后通过 SDS-PAGE 电泳分析和电转移印迹表明存在至少 15 种不同的蛋白质带，分子量范围从 130 kDa 到 <17 kDa。在 TC-100 中对瓦螨唾液分泌物进行系列滴定，然后用毛毛虫 Lacanobia oleracea 的血细胞孵育 18 小时，表明这些分泌物会损伤血细胞，并抑制其伸出伪足和形成聚集的能力。
我们认为，这些分泌物通过抑制血细胞介导的伤口愈合和宿主中的堵塞反应，促进了瓦螨反复从蜜蜂宿主身上吸血的能力。
