Uptake, incorporation and redistribution of arachidonic acid in isolated salivary glands of the lone star tick

Tissue discrimination by uncorrected autofluorescence spectra: a proof-of-principle study for tissue-specific laser surgery

Laser surgery provides a number of advantages over conventional surgery. However, it implies large risks for sensitive tissue structures due to its characteristic non-tissue-specific ablation. The present study investigates the discrimination of nine different ex vivo tissue types by using uncorrected (raw) autofluorescence spectra for the development of a remote feedback control system for tissue-selective laser surgery. Autofluorescence spectra (excitation wavelength 377 ± 50 nm) were measured from nine different ex vivo tissue types, obtained from 15 domestic pig cadavers. For data analysis, a wavelength range between 450 nm and 650 nm was investigated. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Quadratic Discriminant Analysis (QDA) were used to discriminate the tissue types. ROC analysis showed that PCA, followed by QDA, could differentiate all investigated tissue types with AUC results between 1.00 and 0.97. Sensitivity reached values between 93% and 100% and specificity values between 94% and 100%. This ex vivo study shows a high differentiation potential for physiological tissue types when performing autofluorescence spectroscopy followed by PCA and QDA. The uncorrected autofluorescence spectra are suitable for reliable tissue discrimination and have a high potential to meet the challenges necessary for an optical feedback system for tissue-specific laser surgery.

Tick salivary glands: function, physiology and future

The salivary glands are the organs of osmoregulation in ticks and, as such, are critical to the biological success of ticks both during the extended period off the host and also during the feeding period on the host. Absorption of water vapour from unsaturated air into hygroscopic fluid produced by the salivary glands permit the tick to remain hydrated and viable during the many months between blood-meals. When feeding, the tick is able to return about 70% of the fluid and ion content of the blood-meal into the host by salivation into the feeding site. This saliva also contains many bioactive protein and lipid components that aid acquisition of the blood-meal. The salivary glands are the site of pathogen development and the saliva the route of transmission. The importance of the multifunctional salivary glands to tick survival and vector competency makes the glands a potential target for intervention. Here we review the cell biology of tick salivary glands and discuss the application of new approaches such as expressed sequence tag projects and RNA interference to this important area in the field of tick and tick-borne pathogen research.

Tick salivary prostaglandins: Presence, origin and significance

Prostaglandins (PGs) are oxygenated metabolites of polyunsaturated fatty acids, most notably arachidonic acid, that act as 'local hormones', regulating a plethora of physiological processes in mammals and other vertebrates. For a long time, PGs were reported only in higher vertebrates, but more recently they have been reported in lower organisms such as bacteria, yeasts and protozoa, and much information is now available on PGs in insects. Prostaglandins are increasingly reported to exist at the host-parasite interface and are thought to aid the parasite by modulating the inflammatory and immune response. Ticks secrete saliva containing extremely high concentrations of PGs into the host, and in this article Alan Bowman, Jack Dillwith and John Sauer provide a synopsis of the information, to date, on the presence, synthesis and proposed roles for these tick salivary PGs.

Salivary glands in ixodid ticks: control and mechanism of secretion

The salivary glands are vital to the biological success of ixodid ticks and the major route for pathogen transmission. Important functions include the absorption of water vapor from unsaturated air by free-living ticks, excretion of excess fluid for blood meal concentration, and the secretion of bioactive protein and lipid compounds during tick feeding. Fluid secretion is controlled by nerves. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter at the neuroeffector junction regulating secretion via adenylate cyclase and an increase in cellular cAMP. Dopamine also affects the release of arachidonic acid which is subsequently converted to prostaglandins. Prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) is secreted at extremely high levels into tick saliva for export to the host where it impacts the host physiology. Additionally, PGE(2) has an autocrine or paracrine role within the salivary gland itself where it interacts with a PGE(2) receptor to induce secretion (exocytosis) of bioactive saliva proteins via a phosphoinositide signalling pathway and an increase in cellular Ca(2+). Regulation of fluid secretion has been extensively studied, but little is known about the mechanism of fluid secretion. Continuing advances in tick salivary gland physiology will be made as key regulatory and secretory gland proteins are purified and/or their genes cloned and sequenced.

Alteration of arachidonate levels in tick salivary glands by dietary modification of host blood lipids

Tick saliva contains prostaglandins of the 2-series, believed to facilitate bloodmeal acquisition. Because ticks cannot synthesize the prostaglandin precursor, arachidonic acid, investigations were undertaken to study the uptake, incorporation, and distribution of arachidonic acid in the salivary glands of the lone star tick in vitro and in vivo. Uptake of [3H]arachidonate by isolated salivary glands was reduced in the presence of low concentrations of arachidonic or eicosapentaenoic acids, but much higher, non-physiological concentrations of oleic and linoleic acids were required to inhibit [3H]arachidonate uptake. The incorporation of [3H]arachidonate into triglycerides increased at high concentrations of arachidonic or eicosapentaenoic acid, but not at any concentration of oleic or linoleic acid. Eicosatetraynoic acid greatly inhibited [3H]arachidonic acid. Guinea pigs fed hydrogenated coconut oil, safflower/primrose oil, or fish oil exhibited altered blood lipids; notably increased levels of eicosapentaenoic acid when fed fish oil. Salivary gland lipids in ticks fed on these hosts were also altered. Ticks parasitizing fish oil-fed guinea pigs contained high levels of eicosapentaenoic acid with a 30% reduction in arachidonate levels. The results demonstrated that eicosapentaenoic acid in the host diet had profound effects on arachidonate assimilation by tick salivary glands, which could lead to altered prostaglandin content in tick saliva.

Origin of arachidonic acid in the salivary glands of the lone star tick, Amblyomma, americanum

The contribution of synthesis and dietary sequestration to the high arachidonate content of the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, salivary glands was investigated by assessing the salivary metabolites of various radiolabeled fatty acid substrates administered to partially fed females. A portion of each of the fatty acids studied was incorporated into the fatty acid moiety of the phospholipid fraction. [14C]acetate was metabolized only into myristic, palmitic, palmitoleic, steric, and oleic acids. [3H]oleic acid, [14C]linoleic acid, [14C]gamma-linolenic acid and [14C]eicosatrienoic acids were incorporated into salivary gland phospholipids but underwent little change including elongation and/or desaturation to arachidonate. Ingested [3H]arachidonic acid was readily taken up by the salivary gland and distributed among the lipid classes in a pattern markedly different from that of the other fatty acids tested. We conclude that ticks are unable to synthesize arachidonic acid for incorporation into the salivary glands, but rather sequester it from the host bloodmeal.

Regulation of free arachidonic acid levels in isolated salivary glands from the lone star tick: a role for dopamine

An important regulatory step for prostaglandin synthesis is the availability of the precursor, free arachidonic acid (AA). In isolated salivary glands of the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum (L.), the level of free AA appears to depend on higher phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity rather than decreased rates of re-esterification by lysophosphatide acyl transferase (LAT). This conclusion is supported by experiments where inhibition of LAT with merthiolate was without effect, while the calcium ionophore A23187, a PLA2 stimulant, increased levels of free AA. The PLA2 activity in A. americanum was reduced by the substrate analog, PLA2 inhibitor, oleyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine in a dose-dependent manner, but was insensitive to the other mammalian PLA2 inhibitors mepacrine (20 microM), aristolochic acid (45 microM), and dexamethasone (50 microM). No substrate preference was observed for the functional group of the phospholipid, with phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine being equal sources of AA in A23187-stimulated glands. Compared to phospholipids containing other fatty acids, only arachidonyl-phospholipid (arachidonyl-PL) was significantly hydrolyzed by PLA2 activity in A23187-stimulated glands. Dopamine was as effective as A23187 as a stimulant of PLA2 activity in isolated glands, but this effect was abolished in the presence of the calcium channel blocking agent verapamil. It is concluded that free AA levels in tick salivary glands are increased through activation of a Type IV-like PLA2 following an increase of intracellular calcium caused by the opening of voltage-dependent calcium channels due to dopamine stimulation.