title: Immunization of mice with recombinant P27/30 protein confers protection against hard tick Haemaphysalis longicornis (Acari: Ixodidae) infestation.
abstract: The success of immunological control methods is dependent upon the use of potential key antigens as tick vaccine candidates. Previously, we cloned a gene encoding 27 kDa and 30 kDa proteins (P27/30) of Haemaphysalis longicornis, and identified the P27/30 is a troponin I-like protein. In this study, the recombinant P27/30 (rP27/30) expressed in Escherichia coli was used to immunize mice and the mice were challenge-infested with ticks at different developmental stages of the same species. The rP27/30 protein stimulated a specific protective anti-tick immune response in mice, evidenced by the statistically significant longer pre-feeding periods in adult ticks. Furthermore, significantly longer feeding periods were noted in both larval and adult ticks. On the other hand, only larval ticks exhibited low attachment rates (31.1%). Immunization of mice with rP27/30 protein confers protection against hard tick Haemaphysalis longicornis infestation. These results demonstrated that the rP27/30 protein might be a useful vaccine candidate antigen for biological control of ticks.
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine and Bio-safety Research Center, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Korea. tick@chonbuk.ac.kr
authors.forename: Myung-Jo
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: You
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008840:Microfilament Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D008840:Microfilament Proteins; C444437:P27-30 protein, Haemaphysalis longicornis; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic