title: Ticks Take Cues from Mammalian Interferon.
abstract: Interferons are considered a first line of immune defense restricted to vertebrates. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Smith et al. (2016) demonstrate that mammalian interferon γ activates an antimicrobial response within ticks feeding on blood. The study suggests that arthropods have a parallel interferon-like defense system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. Electronic address: desilva@med.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Aravinda M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: de Silva
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D007372:Interferons; D008322:Mammals; D013987:Ticks / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D007372:Interferons