title: A novel tick antigen shows high vaccine efficacy against the dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus.
abstract: Ticks are acaridae ectoparasites that, while taking a blood meal, can transmit viruses, bacteria, protozoa and filarial nematodes, which cause a variety of human and animal illnesses. The use of chemical pesticides constitutes the primary measure for control of these ectoparasites. However, the intensive use of these chemicals has drawbacks such as the contamination of food, environmental pollution and development of resistance by ectoparasites. Vaccination is considered a promising alternative for controlling infestations by ectoparasites. Although emerging tick proteins have been identified recently, and have been proposed as potential targets for generating protective molecules, only a limited number of them have been evaluated in vaccine trials. More than 80 proteins are found in eukaryotic ribosomes. The protein P0 is essential for the assembly of the 60S ribosomal subunit. We have identified an immunogenic region of the ribosomal protein P0 from Rhipicephalus sp. ticks that is not very conserved compared to host P0. The efficacy of a 20 amino acid synthetic peptide from this sequence was assayed as a vaccine antigen against Rhipicephalus sanguineus infestations in an immunization and challenge experiment on rabbits. A remarkable diminution in the viability of newly molted nymphs from larvae fed on vaccinated rabbits was observed. The number of adults and the number of eggs hatching were significantly reduced, with an overall efficacy of 90%. Our results demonstrated that immunization with an immunogenic peptide of tick protein P0 greatly reduced survival of ticks, suggesting that it has promise as an effective tick control agent.
authors.affiliation: Animal Biotechnology Department, Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, 31th Avenue and 190, P.O. Box 6162, Havana 10600, Cuba. alina.rodriguez@cigb.edu.cu
authors.forename: Alina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Mallon
authors.forename: Erlinda
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: Pedro E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Encinosa
authors.forename: Yamil
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bello
authors.forename: Lídice
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Méndez-Pérez
authors.forename: Lázaro Cepero
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: Danny
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.forename: Mayte
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: Hilda
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Garay
authors.forename: Osvaldo
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Reyes
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Méndez
authors.forename: Mario Pablo
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Estrada
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D060829:Arthropod Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000276:immunology; D011817:Rabbits; D048508:Rhipicephalus sanguineus / Q000276:immunology*; D013983:Tick Control / Q000379:methods; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D014612:Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D060829:Arthropod Proteins; D010455:Peptides; D014612:Vaccines; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic