Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2006 Nov;13(11):1217-22.
doi: 10.1128/CVI.00201-06. Epub 2006 Aug 23.

Confirmation of tick bite by detection of antibody to Ixodes calreticulin salivary protein

Francisco Alarcon-Chaidez  1 , Raymond Ryan, Stephen Wikel, Kenneth Dardick, Caroline Lawler, Ivo M Foppa, Patricio Tomas, Alexis Cushman, Ann Hsieh, Andrew Spielman, Keith R Bouchard, Filiciano Dias, Jaber Aslanzadeh, Peter J Krause
Affiliations

Confirmation of tick bite by detection of antibody to Ixodes calreticulin salivary protein

Francisco Alarcon-Chaidez et al. Clin Vaccine Immunol. 2006 Nov.

Abstract

Ticks introduce a variety of pharmacologically active molecules into their host during attachment and feeding in order to obtain a blood meal. People who are repeatedly exposed to ticks may develop an immune response to tick salivary proteins. Despite this response, people usually are unaware of having been bitten, especially if they are not repeatedly exposed to ticks. In order to develop a laboratory marker of tick exposure that would be useful in understanding the epidemiology of tick-borne infection and the immune response to tick bite, we developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect antibody to a recombinant form of calreticulin protein found in the salivary glands of Ixodes scapularis, a member of a complex of Ixodes ticks that serve as the vectors for Lyme disease, human babesiosis, and human granulocytic anaplasmosis. Using this assay, we tested sera obtained from C3H/HeN and BALB/c mice before and after experimental deer tick infestation. These mice developed antibody to Ixodes calreticulin antigen after infestation. We then used the same assay to test sera obtained from people before and after they experienced deer tick bite(s). People experiencing deer tick bite(s) developed Ixodes calreticulin-specific antibody responses that persisted for up to 17 months. This Ixodes recombinant calreticulin ELISA provides objective evidence of deer tick exposure in people.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Western blots of sera against Ixodes recombinant calreticulin (10 μg/strip) from people before (lanes B) and within 3 months after (lanes A) development of Lyme disease. The ELISA antibody results of these subjects are shown in Table 2. The positive control consists of pooled acute-phase sera from patients experiencing Lyme disease. The negative control consists of serum from a resident of Iceland.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Beaudouin, E., G. Kanny, B. Guerin, L. Guerin, F. Plenat, and D. A. Moneret-Vautrin. 1997. Unusual manifestations of hypersensitivity after tick bite: report of two cases. Ann. Allergy Asthma Immunol. 79:43-46. - PubMed
    1. Bell, J. F., S. J. Stewart, and S. K. Wikel. 1979. Resistance to tick-borne Francisella tularensis by tick-sensitized rabbits: allergic klendusity. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 28:876-880. - PubMed
    1. Bergman, D. K., M. J. Palmer, M. J. Caimano, J. D. Radolf, and S. K. Wikel. 2000. Isolation and molecular cloning of a secreted immunosuppressant protein from Dermacentor andersoni salivary gland. J. Parasitol. 86:516-525. - PubMed
    1. Bouchard, K. R., and S. K. Wikel. 2005. Care, maintenance, and experimental infestation of ticks in the laboratory setting, p. 705-711. In W.C. Marquart (ed.), Biology of disease vectors, 2nd ed. Elsevier Academic Press, San Diego, Calif.
    1. Brossard, M., and S. K. Wikel. 2004. Tick immunobiology. Parasitology 129:S161-S176. - PubMed

Publication types