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Saliva of the tick Ixodes dammini inhibits neutrophil function
J M Ribeiro1, J J Weis, S R Telford
1Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Tropical Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115.
Experimental Parasitology
|May 1, 1990
Abstract:
Pilocarpine-induced saliva of adult female Ixodes dammini ticks inhibits the function of peritoneal-derived rat neutrophils, as measured by anaphylatoxin-induced aggregation, FMLP-induced granule enzyme secretion, zymosan-induced superoxide secretion, and phagocytosis of Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes. Inhibition ranged from 40 to 80% when saliva was diluted 20 times into the assay medium. This neutrophil-inhibiting activity of I. dammini saliva may aid in tick feeding and facilitate pathogen transmission.