Tick ​​saliva inhibits the immune system of the skin and increases the risk of diseases – healing practice

Ticks cause profound changes in the immune system of the skin

ticks are worldwide parasites that feed on the blood of mammals. In this country, arachnids are mainly used as carriers of Pathogens known as tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and Lyme disease. A study has just shown that the saliva small animals immune defense the skin weakens and thus increases the risk of such diseases.

In science, it was not yet known why ticks are particularly dangerous vectors of diseases. A research team led by Johanna Strobl and Georg Stary from the Department of Dermatology at the Medical University of Vienna (MedUni) has now shown that tick saliva inhibits the defense function of the skin and reduces the risk of diseases such as tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) or high Lyme disease. The study was published in the journalClinical Investigation Journal“published.

Disrupted immune cell function

According Message the researchers carried out their investigations both on skin samples from test persons and on human skin models on which the bite of the common wood tick (Ixodes ricinus, colloquially: tick) was imitated.

In both cases, the scientists, led by Georg Stary (MedUni Vienna Department of Dermatology, CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the OeAW, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases) in collaboration with Hannes Stockinger’s research group (Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology of the MedUni Vienna) patterns of rapid onset of immune modulation Party.

For example, the function of immune cells, particularly those important for immunological memory, has been shown to T cellswas disturbed by contact with tick saliva.

“Profound changes in the immune system”

Researchers have made similar observations in the early stages of model infections by Borrelia burgdorferi, the most common cause of Lyme disease.

They found that pre-incubation of Lyme disease-carrying bacteria (spirochetes) with extracts of tick salivary glands reduced the accumulation of immune cells hampered in the skin and increased exposure to pathogens.

“Overall, we show that sucking the tick causes profound changes in the immune system of the skin that inhibit the immune response. This means that dangerous pathogens, which are introduced into the skin with tick saliva, multiply more easily and can thus lead to infection.”, says Johanna Strobl, first author of the study. (ad)