Protease inhibitors (PIs) are ubiquitous regulatory proteins present in all kingdoms. They play crucial tasks in controlling biological processes directed by proteases which, if not tightly regulated, can damage the host organism. PIs can be classified according to their targeted proteases or their mechanism of action. The functions of many PIs have now been characterized and are showing clinical relevance for the treatment of human diseases such as arthritis, hepatitis, cancer, AIDS, and cardiovascular diseases, amongst others. Other PIs have potential use in agriculture as insecticides, anti-fungal, and antibacterial agents. PIs from tick salivary glands are special due to their pharmacological properties and their high specificity, selectivity, and affinity to their target proteases at the tick-host interface. In this review, we discuss the structure and function of PIs in general and those PI superfamilies abundant in tick salivary glands to illustrate their possible practical applications. In doing so, we describe tick salivary PIs that are showing promise as drug candidates, highlighting the most promising ones tested in vivo and which are now progressing to preclinical and clinical trials.
- MeSH
- inhibitory proteas izolace a purifikace terapeutické užití MeSH
- interakce hostitele a parazita genetika imunologie MeSH
- klíšťata metabolismus MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- slinné žlázy metabolismus MeSH
- sliny chemie metabolismus MeSH
- transkriptom genetika MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
Ticks must durably suppress vertebrate host responses (hemostasis, inflammation, immunity) to avoid rejection and act as vectors of many pathogenic microorganisms that cause disease in humans and animals. Transcriptomics and proteomics studies have been used to study tick-host-pathogen interactions and have facilitated the systematic characterization of salivary composition and molecular dynamics throughout tick feeding. Tick saliva contains a complement of protease inhibitors that are differentially produced during feeding, many of which inhibit blood coagulation, platelet aggregation, vasodilation, and immunity. Here we focus on two major groups of protease inhibitors, the small molecular weight Kunitz inhibitors and cystatins. We discuss their role in tick-host-pathogen interactions, how they mediate the interaction between ticks and their hosts, and how they might be exploited both by pathogens to invade hosts and as candidates for the treatment of various human pathologies.
- MeSH
- aprotinin chemie metabolismus MeSH
- cystatiny chemie metabolismus MeSH
- inhibitory proteas metabolismus MeSH
- interakce hostitele a parazita * MeSH
- klíšťata MeSH
- proteomika MeSH
- slinné žlázy metabolismus MeSH
- sliny metabolismus MeSH
- transkriptom MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
To successfully feed, ticks inject pharmacoactive molecules into the vertebrate host including cystatin cysteine protease inhibitors. However, the molecular and cellular events modulated by tick saliva remain largely unknown. Here, we describe and characterize a novel immunomodulatory cystatin, Iristatin, which is upregulated in the salivary glands of feeding Ixodes ricinus ticks. We present the crystal structure of Iristatin at 1.76 Å resolution. Purified recombinant Iristatin inhibited the proteolytic activity of cathepsins L and C and diminished IL-2, IL-4, IL-9, and IFN-γ production by different T-cell populations, IL-6 and IL-9 production by mast cells, and nitric oxide production by macrophages. Furthermore, Iristatin inhibited OVA antigen-induced CD4+ T-cell proliferation and leukocyte recruitment in vivo and in vitro. Our results indicate that Iristatin affects wide range of anti-tick immune responses in the vertebrate host and may be exploitable as an immunotherapeutic.
- MeSH
- cystatiny klasifikace genetika farmakologie MeSH
- cytokiny metabolismus MeSH
- epoxidové sloučeniny metabolismus MeSH
- fylogeneze MeSH
- imunosupresiva chemie metabolismus farmakologie MeSH
- klíště chemie genetika metabolismus MeSH
- krystalografie rentgenová MeSH
- makrofágy účinky léků metabolismus MeSH
- oxid dusnatý metabolismus MeSH
- proteiny členovců chemie genetika farmakologie MeSH
- proteolýza účinky léků MeSH
- sekvence aminokyselin MeSH
- sekvenční homologie aminokyselin MeSH
- slinné cystatiny chemie genetika farmakologie MeSH
- T-lymfocyty účinky léků metabolismus MeSH
- tyrosin analogy a deriváty metabolismus MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH