Saliva-activated transmission of Borrelia afzelii Canica, Nato, du Merle, Mazie, Baranton et Postic, 1993 was demonstrated using salivary gland extract (SGE) from Ixodes ricinus (L., 1758) ticks and C3H mice. Injection of Borrelia spirochaetes together with SGE increased the level of bacteraemia and accelerated the appearance of bacteria in the urinary bladder, compared with the injection of spirochaetes alone. More I. ricinus nymphs became infected when feeding on mice inoculated with B. afzelii plus SGE. Analysis of cytokines produced by cells of draining lymph nodes from SGE-treated mice showed a suppression of proinflammatory cytokines IFN-gamma, IL-6 and GM-CSF following a transient upregulation in comparison with the control mice infected without SGE.

Institute of Parasitology Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Branisovská 31 370 05 Ceské Budĕjovice Czech Republic

Lyme disease transmission by severely impaired ticks

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Co-inoculation of Borrelia afzelii with tick salivary gland extract influences distribution of immunocompetent cells in the skin and lymph nodes of mice

Tick saliva in anti-tick immunity and pathogen transmission