Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Kerrville, Texas » Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory » Cattle Fever Tick Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #416218

Research Project: Integrated Pest Management of Cattle Fever Ticks

Location: Cattle Fever Tick Research Unit

Title: A glimpse into the world of microRNAs in hard ticks

Author
item LEAL-GALVAN, BRENDA - Texas A&M University
item KUMAR, DEEPAK - University Of Southern Mississippi
item KARIM, SHAHID - University Of Southern Mississippi
item Saelao, Perot
item Thomas, Donald
item OLIVA CHAVEZ, ADELA - University Of Wisconsin

Submitted to: Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/10/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Ticks are blood feeding ectoparasites that can transmit a wide range of pathogens to wildlife, animals, and humans. One mechanism that enables tick to blood feed are extracellular vesicles. these molecules interact with the host immune system and either suppress the host response, facilitate feeding duration, and delay wound healing. This article reviews the molecular characterization, putative function, and computational detection of novel and conserved miRNAs.

Technical Abstract: Ticks are important blood feeding ectoparasites that transmit pathogens to wildlife, domestic animals, and humans. Hard ticks can feed for several days to weeks, nevertheless they often go undetected. This phenomenon can be explained by the ability of ticks to release crucial analgesics, immunosuppressives, anticoagulants, and vasodilators within their saliva. Several groups studies have identified extracellular vesicles (EVs) as carriers of some of these effector molecules. Further, EVs enhance pathogen transmission, modulate immune responses, and delay wound healing. EVs are double -lipid-membrane vesicles that transport intracellular cargo like including microRNAs (miRNAs) to recipient cells. The miRNAs are involved in regulating gene expression post-transcriptionally. Interestingly, tick-derived miRNAs have been shown to also enhance pathogen transmission and affect vital biological processes such as like oviposition, blood digestion, and molting. Further, miRNAs have been found within tick salivary EVs. This review will focus on current knowledge of about miRNA loading into EVs in model organisms, findings in tick miRNA profiles, including miRNAs packed within tick salivary EVs, and the potential role of miRNAs during active tick feeding, tick reproduction biology, and pathogen transmission. Lastly, we will discuss the potential uses of tick miRNA to develop management tools for tick control, and to prevent tick pathogen transmission. Further, the identification of conserved and novel tick salivary miRNAs that target processes within the host could lead to the discovery of new therapeutics for human disease.