Wang Xin, Huang Yong, Niu Si-bo, Jiang Bao-Gui, Jia Na, van der Geest Leo, Ni Xue-bing, Sun Yi, Cao Wu-Chun
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, P. R. China; Wenzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wenzhou, P. R. China.
State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, P. R. China.
PLoS One. 2014 Apr 8;9(4):e94131. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0094131. eCollection 2014.
Salp15, a 15-kDa tick salivary gland protein, is both essential for ticks to successfully obtain host blood and also facilitates transmission of Lyme borreliosis. To determine whether the Salp15 gene is expressed in Ixodes persulcatus and Ixodes sinensis, principle vectors of Lyme borreliosis in China, we studied transcriptions of this gene in semi-engorged larvae, nymph and adults of these two species. A total of eight Salp15 homologues, five in I. persulcatus and three in I. sinensis, were identified by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Interestingly, the intra-species similarity of Salp15 is approximately equal to its interspecies similarity and more than one Salp15 protein is expressed in a certain tick developmental stage. Comparison of DNA and proteins with other available tick Salp15 homologues suggests that the Salp15 superfamily is genetically conserved and diverse in the Ixodes ricinus complex. These findings indicate that Salp15 proteins in the I. ricinus complex may play an essential role in interacting with the host immune system and transmission of Borrelia genospecies.
Salp15是一种15千道尔顿的蜱唾液腺蛋白，对蜱成功获取宿主血液至关重要，同时也促进莱姆病的传播。为了确定Salp15基因在中国莱姆病的主要传播媒介全沟硬蜱和中华硬蜱中是否表达，我们研究了该基因在这两个物种的半饱血幼虫、若虫和成虫中的转录情况。通过逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）共鉴定出8个Salp15同源物，其中全沟硬蜱有5个，中华硬蜱有3个。有趣的是，Salp15的种内相似性与其种间相似性大致相等，并且在蜱的某个发育阶段会表达不止一种Salp15蛋白。将DNA和蛋白质与其他可用的蜱Salp15同源物进行比较表明，Salp15超家族在蓖麻蜱复合体中具有遗传保守性和多样性。这些发现表明，蓖麻蜱复合体中的Salp15蛋白可能在与宿主免疫系统相互作用和疏螺旋体菌种传播中起重要作用。
