Ticks are important human and animal parasites and vectors of many infectious disease agents. Control of tick activity is an effective tool to reduce the risk of contracting tick-transmitted diseases. The castor bean tick (Ixodes ricinus) is the most common tick species in Europe. It is also a vector of the causative agents of Lyme borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis, which are two of the most important arthropod-borne diseases in Europe. In recent years, increases in tick activity and incidence of tick-borne diseases have been observed in many European countries. These increases are linked to many ecological and anthropogenic factors such as landscape management, climate change, animal migration, and increased popularity of outdoor activities or changes in land usage. Tick activity is driven by many biotic and abiotic factors, some of which can be effectively managed to decrease risk of tick bites. In the USA, recommendations for landscape management, tick host control, and tick chemical control are well-defined for the applied purpose of reducing tick presence on private property. In Europe, where fewer studies have assessed tick management strategies, the similarity in ecological factors influencing vector presence suggests that approaches that work in USA may also be applicable. In this article we review key factors driving the tick exposure risk in Europe to select those most conducive to management for decreased tick-associated risk.

• Klíčová slova
• Ixodes ricinus, tick, tick management, tick-borne diseases,
• MeSH
• hodnocení rizik MeSH
• klíště * patogenita   MeSH
• klíšťová encefalitida * terapie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• lymeská nemoc * terapie   MeSH
• nemoci přenášené klíšťaty * terapie   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• přehledy MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Evropa MeSH

Hematophagous arthropods are responsible for the transmission of a variety of pathogens that cause disease in humans and animals. Ticks of the Ixodes ricinus complex are vectors for some of the most frequently occurring human tick-borne diseases, particularly Lyme borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). The search for vaccines against these diseases is ongoing. Efforts during the last few decades have primarily focused on understanding the biology of the transmitted viruses, bacteria and protozoans, with the goal of identifying targets for intervention. Successful vaccines have been developed against TBEV and Lyme borreliosis, although the latter is no longer available for humans. More recently, the focus of intervention has shifted back to where it was initially being studied which is the vector. State of the art technologies are being used for the identification of potential vaccine candidates for anti-tick vaccines that could be used either in humans or animals. The study of the interrelationship between ticks and the pathogens they transmit, including mechanisms of acquisition, persistence and transmission have come to the fore, as this knowledge may lead to the identification of critical elements of the pathogens' life-cycle that could be targeted by vaccines. Here, we review the status of our current knowledge on the triangular relationships between ticks, the pathogens they carry and the mammalian hosts, as well as methods that are being used to identify anti-tick vaccine candidates that can prevent the transmission of tick-borne pathogens.

• Klíčová slova
• Anaplasma, Babesia, Borrelia, Ixodes, Midgut, Rickettsia, Saliva, TBEV, Tick, Vaccine,
• MeSH
• Borrelia MeSH
• infekce přenášené vektorem MeSH
• klíště mikrobiologie   virologie   MeSH
• klíšťová encefalitida prevence a kontrola   MeSH
• kousnutí klíštětem prevence a kontrola   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• lymeská nemoc prevence a kontrola   MeSH
• nemoci přenášené klíšťaty prevence a kontrola   přenos   MeSH
• proteiny členovců imunologie   MeSH
• sliny MeSH
• vakcíny imunologie   MeSH
• viry klíšťové encefalitidy MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• přehledy MeSH
• Názvy látek
• proteiny členovců MeSH
• vakcíny MeSH

The Subolesin/Akirin constitutes a good model for the study of functional evolution because these proteins have been conserved throughout the metazoan and play a role in the regulation of different biological processes. Here, we investigated the evolutionary history of Subolesin/Akirin with recent results on their structure, protein-protein interactions and function in different species to provide insights into the functional evolution of these regulatory proteins, and their potential as vaccine antigens for the control of ectoparasite infestations and pathogen infection. The results suggest that Subolesin/Akirin evolved conserving not only its sequence and structure, but also its function and role in cell interactome and regulome in response to pathogen infection and other biological processes. This functional conservation provides a platform for further characterization of the function of these regulatory proteins, and how their evolution can meet species-specific demands. Furthermore, the conserved functional evolution of Subolesin/Akirin correlates with the protective capacity shown by these proteins in vaccine formulations for the control of different arthropod and pathogen species. These results encourage further research to characterize the structure and function of these proteins, and to develop new vaccine formulations by combining Subolesin/Akirin with interacting proteins for the control of multiple ectoparasite infestations and pathogen infection.

• Klíčová slova
• Anaplasma phagocytophilum, immune response, interactome, phylogeny, regulome, tick, vaccine,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• přehledy MeSH