Sales-Campos Helioswilton, Desidério Chamberttan Souza, Trevisan Rafael Obata, Timóteo Rodolfo Pessato, Flávio-Reis Victor Hugo Palhares, Pessoa-Gonçalves Yago Marcos, da Silva Marcos Vinicius, Esteves Eliane, de Jesus Oliveira Thiago, da Silva Junior Pedro Ismael, Oliveira Carlo José Freire
Department of Bioscience and Technology, Institute of Tropical Pathology and Public Health, Federal University of Goiás, Goiania 74605-050, Goiás, Brazil.
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Institute of Biological and Natural Sciences, Federal University of Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba 38025-180, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 May 15;26(10):4734. doi: 10.3390/ijms26104734.
The saliva of hematophagous arthropods, such as ticks and triatomines, contains bioactive ligands capable of modulating immune molecules, including cytokines. Cytokines play a critical role in immune regulation and have therapeutic relevance in inflammatory and immune-mediated diseases. Despite recent advances, identifying cytokine-binding molecules remains a significant challenge. Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin-4 (IL-4), and interleukin-17 (IL-17) are key cytokines involved in inflammation, adaptive immunity, and host defense. This study evaluated the ability of salivary components from and compared the results to the triatomine (used as control) to bind to IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, IFN-γ, and TNF-α using ELISA assays with human cytokines. Saliva samples were tested at dilutions of 1:25, 1:50, and 1:100. Saliva from , which demonstrated significant anti-cytokine activity, was fractionated via HPLC to identify the active components. The results confirmed the inhibitory capacity of saliva on IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-17, with inhibition rates ranging from 30% to 70%, depending on the cytokine and dilution. No inhibitory activity was observed against IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, or TNF-α. These findings underscore the immunomodulatory role of saliva during tick feeding and suggest its potential for the development of novel immunobiologics to treat inflammatory and immune-mediated diseases.
吸血节肢动物（如蜱虫和锥蝽）的唾液中含有能够调节免疫分子（包括细胞因子）的生物活性配体。细胞因子在免疫调节中起关键作用，并且在炎症和免疫介导的疾病中具有治疗意义。尽管最近取得了进展，但鉴定细胞因子结合分子仍然是一项重大挑战。干扰素-γ（IFN-γ）、白细胞介素-4（IL-4）和白细胞介素-17（IL-17）是参与炎症、适应性免疫和宿主防御的关键细胞因子。本研究评估了[蜱虫名称]唾液成分与作为对照的锥蝽唾液成分结合白细胞介素-2（IL-2）、IL-4、IL-6、IL-10、IL-17、IFN-γ和肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）的能力，使用针对人细胞因子的酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）法进行检测。唾液样本在1:25、1:50和1:100的稀释度下进行测试。通过高效液相色谱法（HPLC）对表现出显著抗细胞因子活性的[蜱虫名称]唾液进行分离，以鉴定活性成分。结果证实了[蜱虫名称]唾液对IFN-γ、IL-4和IL-17具有抑制能力，抑制率在30%至70%之间，具体取决于细胞因子和稀释度。未观察到对IL-2、IL-6、IL-10或TNF-α的抑制活性。这些发现强调了蜱虫唾液在蜱虫叮咬过程中的免疫调节作用，并表明其在开发治疗炎症和免疫介导疾病的新型免疫生物制品方面具有潜力。
