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Perner J, Provazník J, Schrenková J, Urbanová V, Ribeiro JMC, Kopáček P. RNA-seq analyses of the midgut from blood- and serum-fed Ixodes ricinus ticks. Sci Rep 2016; 6:36695. [PMID: 27824139 PMCID: PMC5099782 DOI: 10.1038/srep36695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2016] [Accepted: 10/17/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Adult females of the genus Ixodes imbibe blood meals exceeding about 100 times their own weight within 7‒9 days. During this period, ticks internalise components of host blood by endocytic digest cells that line the tick midgut epithelium. Using RNA-seq, we aimed to characterise the midgut transcriptome composition in adult Ixodes ricinus females during early and late phase of engorgement. To address specific adaptations to the haemoglobin-rich diet, we compared the midgut transcriptomes of genetically homogenous female siblings fed either bovine blood or haemoglobin-depleted serum. We noted that tick gut transcriptomes are subject to substantial temporal-dependent expression changes between day 3 and day 8 of feeding. In contrast, the number of transcripts significantly affected by the presence or absence of host red blood cells was low. Transcripts relevant to the processes associated with blood-meal digestion were analysed and involvement of selected encoded proteins in the tick midgut physiology discussed. A total of 7215 novel sequences from I. ricinus were deposited in public databases as an additional outcome of this study. Our results broaden the current knowledge of tick digestive system and may lead to the discovery of potential molecular targets for efficient tick control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Perner
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Provazník
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Schrenková
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Veronika Urbanová
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - José M. C. Ribeiro
- Section of Vector Biology, Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Petr Kopáček
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
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Sojka D, Pytelková J, Perner J, Horn M, Konvičková J, Schrenková J, Mareš M, Kopáček P. Multienzyme degradation of host serum albumin in ticks. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2015; 7:604-13. [PMID: 26724897 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2015.12.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2015] [Revised: 11/25/2015] [Accepted: 12/14/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Host blood proteins, represented mainly by hemoglobin and serum albumin, serve as the ultimate source of amino acids needed for de novo protein synthesis during tick development and reproduction. While uptake and processing of hemoglobin by tick gut cells have been studied in detail, molecular mechanisms of host serum albumin degradation remain unknown. In this work, we have used artificial membrane feeding of Ixodes ricinus females on a hemoglobin-free diet in order to characterize the proteolytic machinery involved in albuminolysis. Morphological comparisons of ticks fed on whole blood (BF) and serum (SF) at microscopic and ultrastructural levels showed that albumin and hemoglobin have different trafficking routes in tick gut cells. Analysis in vitro with selective inhibitors demonstrated that albumin is degraded at an acidic pH by a network of cysteine and aspartic peptidases with predominant involvement of cysteine cathepsins having endo- and exopeptidase activities. The cleavage map of albumin and the roles of individual peptidases in albumin degradation were determined. These results indicate that the albuminolytic pathway is controlled by the same proteolytic system that is responsible for hemoglobinolysis. This was further supported by the overall similarity of gut peptidase profiles in SF and BF ticks at the transcriptional and enzymatic activity levels. In conclusion, our work provides evidence that although hemoglobin and albumin are transported differentially during heterophagy they are digested by a common multienzyme proteolytic network. This central digestive system, critical for successful blood feeding in tick females, thus represents a valuable target for novel anti-tick interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Sojka
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branisovska 31, 373 11 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.
| | - Jana Pytelková
- Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 166 10 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Perner
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branisovska 31, 373 11 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic; Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branisovska 31, 373 11 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Horn
- Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 166 10 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jitka Konvičková
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branisovska 31, 373 11 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic; Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branisovska 31, 373 11 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Schrenková
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branisovska 31, 373 11 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic; Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branisovska 31, 373 11 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Michael Mareš
- Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 166 10 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Kopáček
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branisovska 31, 373 11 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
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Strnad M, Elsterová J, Schrenková J, Vancová M, Rego ROM, Grubhoffer L, Nebesářová J. Correlative cryo-fluorescence and cryo-scanning electron microscopy as a straightforward tool to study host-pathogen interactions. Sci Rep 2015; 5:18029. [PMID: 26658551 PMCID: PMC4674872 DOI: 10.1038/srep18029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2015] [Accepted: 11/09/2015] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Correlative light and electron microscopy is an imaging technique that enables identification and targeting of fluorescently tagged structures with subsequent imaging at near-to-nanometer resolution. We established a novel correlative cryo-fluorescence microscopy and cryo-scanning electron microscopy workflow, which enables imaging of the studied object of interest very close to its natural state, devoid of artifacts caused for instance by slow chemical fixation. This system was tested by investigating the interaction of the zoonotic bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi with two mammalian cell lines of neural origin in order to broaden our knowledge about the cell-association mechanisms that precedes the entry of the bacteria into the cell. This method appears to be an unprecedentedly fast (<3 hours), straightforward, and reliable solution to study the finer details of pathogen-host cell interactions and provides important insights into the complex and dynamic relationship between a pathogen and a host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Strnad
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice CZ-37005, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Branišovská 1760, České Budějovice CZ-37005, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Elsterová
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice CZ-37005, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Branišovská 1760, České Budějovice CZ-37005, Czech Republic.,Department of Virology, Veterinary Research Institute, Brno CZ-62100, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Schrenková
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice CZ-37005, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Branišovská 1760, České Budějovice CZ-37005, Czech Republic
| | - Marie Vancová
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice CZ-37005, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Branišovská 1760, České Budějovice CZ-37005, Czech Republic
| | - Ryan O M Rego
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice CZ-37005, Czech Republic
| | - Libor Grubhoffer
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice CZ-37005, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Branišovská 1760, České Budějovice CZ-37005, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Nebesářová
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice CZ-37005, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Branišovská 1760, České Budějovice CZ-37005, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 1594/7, Praha CZ-12800, Czech Republic
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