Ticks infest a variety of animal species and transmit pathogens causing disease in both humans and animals worldwide. Tick-host-pathogen interactions have evolved through dynamic processes that accommodated the genetic traits of the hosts, pathogens transmitted and the vector tick species that mediate their development and survival. New approaches for tick control are dependent on defining molecular interactions between hosts, ticks and pathogens to allow for discovery of key molecules that could be tested in vaccines or new generation therapeutics for intervention of tick-pathogen cycles. Currently, tick vaccines constitute an effective and environmentally sound approach for the control of ticks and the transmission of the associated tick-borne diseases. New candidate protective antigens will most likely be identified by focusing on proteins with relevant biological function in the feeding, reproduction, development, immune response, subversion of host immunity of the tick vector and/or molecules vital for pathogen infection and transmission. This review addresses different approaches and strategies used for the discovery of protective antigens, including focusing on relevant tick biological functions and proteins, reverse genetics, vaccinomics and tick protein evolution and interactomics. New and improved tick vaccines will most likely contain multiple antigens to control tick infestations and pathogen infection and transmission.
- MeSH
- Antigens immunology MeSH
- Tick Infestations parasitology prevention & control MeSH
- Host-Pathogen Interactions MeSH
- Ticks immunology MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Tick-Borne Diseases parasitology prevention & control MeSH
- Vaccines immunology MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Review MeSH
- MeSH
- Species Specificity MeSH
- Fibrinogen analogs & derivatives chemistry MeSH
- Financing, Organized MeSH
- Phylogeny MeSH
- Ixodes chemistry MeSH
- Cloning, Molecular MeSH
- Molecular Sequence Data MeSH
- Ornithodoros chemistry MeSH
- Amino Acid Sequence MeSH
- Sequence Homology, Amino Acid MeSH
- Sequence Alignment MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Animals MeSH
- MeSH
- DNA MeSH
- Research Support as Topic MeSH
- Phylogeny MeSH
- Muramidase genetics metabolism MeSH
- Ornithodoros physiology MeSH
- Amino Acid Sequence MeSH
- Sequence Analysis MeSH
- Digestive System enzymology MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Comparative Study MeSH
- MeSH
- Ticks enzymology MeSH
- Muramidase isolation & purification MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Animals MeSH
- MeSH
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome MeSH
- Antigens, Protozoan isolation & purification MeSH
- Child MeSH
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay MeSH
- Immunocompetence MeSH
- Cryptosporidiosis immunology parasitology MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Antibodies, Protozoan MeSH
- Diarrhea parasitology MeSH
- Check Tag
- Child MeSH
- Humans MeSH
