Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 August 2009
INTRODUCTION
When a tick attaches to a mammalian host to obtain a blood meal it must counteract the well developed haemostatic, inflammatory and immune systems which function to avoid blood loss and to reject unwanted guests. Ticks have been in the blood-feeding business for millions of years and have acquired potent pharmacologically active molecules found in their saliva that can disarm and counteract the haemostatic system of the mammalian host (Ribeiro, 1987b, 1995) and alter the host inflammatory and immune responses (Gillespie et al., 2000; Wikel, 1999). The types of molecules present in tick saliva range from lipids to small peptides and large proteins; each is capable of altering the physiology of the feeding site, consequently affecting pathogen transmission (Ribeiro, 1995; Valenzuela, 2002b; see also Chapter 10). Adaptation of ticks to their natural hosts resulted in the ability of ticks to modulate host immune and haemostatic responses with their saliva. However, tick feeding on non-natural hosts often results in an immune and allergic response, presumably to the injected salivary proteins, resulting in tick rejection (Ribeiro, 1989). Furthermore, in some cases, an immune response to tick feeding confers protection against the pathogens ticks transmit.
Because of the importance of tick saliva, there is increasing interest in the identification and isolation of the molecules in saliva responsible for these effects. The small amount of protein and other biological material present in tick salivary glands has made this a difficult task for many years.
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