Peer Review #2 of "Water absorption through salivary gland type I acini in the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis (v0.1)"

Tick salivary glands play critical roles in maintaining water balance for survival, as they eliminate excess water and ions during blood feeding on hosts. In the long duration of fasting in the off-host period, ticks secrete hygroscopic saliva into the mouth cavity to uptake atmospheric water vapor. Type I acini of tick salivary glands are speculated to be involved in secretion of hygroscopic saliva based on ultrastructure studies. However, we recently proposed that type I acini play a role in resorption of water/ions from the primary saliva produced by other salivary acini (i.e., types II and III) during the tick blood feeding phase. In this study, we tested the function of type I acini in unfed female Ixodes scapularis. The route of ingested water was tracked after forced feeding of water with fluorescent dye rhodamine123. We found that type-I acini of the salivary glands, but not type II and III, are responsible for water uptake. In addition, the ingestion of water through the midgut was also observed. Injection or feeding of ouabain, a Na/K-ATPase inhibitor, suppressed water absorption in type I acini. When I. scapularis was offered a droplet of water, ticks rarely imbibed water directly (5%), while some approached the water droplet to use the high humidity formed in the vicinity of the droplet (23%). We conclude that during both on- and off-host stages, type I acini in salivary glands of female Ixodes scapularis absorb water and ions.

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Sialadenoma papilliferum of the bronchus: rare tracheobronchial tumor of salivary gland type

Pneumologie ◽

10.1055/s-0031-1272181 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 65 (S 01) ◽

Author(s):

RF Falkenstern-Ge ◽

G Ott ◽

G Friedel ◽

H Markmann ◽

J Kalla ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Salivary Gland ◽

Sialadenoma Papilliferum ◽

Gland Type

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Impact of saturation deficit on the diel questing patterns of the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) in laboratory and field studies

10.1603/ice.2016.112939 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Xia Lee

Keyword(s):

Ixodes Scapularis ◽

Field Studies ◽

Saturation Deficit ◽

Blacklegged Tick

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Biotic and abiotic factors affecting blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) distribution and tick-borne disease prevalence in Onondaga County, New York

10.1603/ice.2016.116103 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Nicholas P Piedmonte

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Ixodes Scapularis ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Disease Prevalence ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Biotic And Abiotic Factors ◽

Blacklegged Tick ◽

Tick Borne Disease ◽

Onondaga County

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A case of malignant salivary gland type mixed tumor of the bronchus

Lung Cancer ◽

10.1016/0169-5002(96)84253-x ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 331

Keyword(s):

Salivary Gland ◽

Mixed Tumor ◽

Gland Type

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Monitoring the patterns of submission and presence of tick-borne pathogens in Ixodes scapularis collected from humans and companion animals in Ontario, Canada (2011–2017)

Parasites & Vectors ◽

10.1186/s13071-021-04750-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Mark P. Nelder ◽

Curtis B. Russell ◽

Antonia Dibernardo ◽

Katie M. Clow ◽

Steven Johnson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽

Regression Models ◽

Ixodes Scapularis ◽

Companion Animals ◽

Companion Animal ◽

Babesia Microti ◽

Blacklegged Tick ◽

Host Type ◽

Animal Populations ◽

Pathogen Prevalence

Abstract Background The universal nature of the human–companion animal relationship and their shared ticks and tick-borne pathogens offers an opportunity for improving public and veterinary health surveillance. With this in mind, we describe the spatiotemporal trends for blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) submissions from humans and companion animals in Ontario, along with pathogen prevalence. Methods We tested tick samples submitted through passive surveillance (2011–2017) from humans and companion animals for Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia miyamotoi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti. We describe pathogen prevalence in ticks from humans and from companion animals and constructed univariable Poisson and negative binomial regression models to explore the spatiotemporal relationship between the rates of tick submissions by host type. Results During the study, there were 17,230 blacklegged tick samples submitted from humans and 4375 from companion animals. Tick submission rates from companion animals were higher than expected in several public health units (PHUs) lacking established tick populations, potentially indicating newly emerging populations. Pathogen prevalence in ticks was higher in PHUs where established blacklegged tick populations exist. Borrelia burgdorferi prevalence was higher in ticks collected from humans (maximum likelihood estimate, MLE = 17.5%; 95% confidence interval, CI 16.97–18.09%) than from companion animals (9.9%, 95% CI 9.15–10.78%). There was no difference in pathogen prevalence in ticks by host type for the remaining pathogens, which were found in less than 1% of tested ticks. The most common co-infection B. burgdorferi + B. miyamotoi occurred in 0.11% of blacklegged ticks from humans and animals combined. Borrelia burgdorferi prevalence was higher in unengorged (21.9%, 95% CI 21.12–22.65%) than engorged ticks (10.0%, 95% CI 9.45–10.56%). There were no consistent and significant spatiotemporal relationships detected via regression models between the annual rates of submission of each host type. Conclusions While B. burgdorferi has been present in blacklegged ticks in Ontario for several decades, other tick-borne pathogens are also present at low prevalence. Blacklegged tick and pathogen surveillance data can be used to monitor risk in human and companion animal populations, and efforts are under consideration to unite surveillance efforts for the different target populations. Graphic Abstract

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Anticancer Effects of Sublingual Type I IFN in Combination with Chemotherapy in Implantable and Spontaneous Tumor Models

Cells ◽

10.3390/cells10040845 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 845

Author(s):

Maria Ciccolella ◽

Sara Andreone ◽

Jacopo Mancini ◽

Paola Sestili ◽

Donatella Negri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Salivary Gland ◽

Biological Effects ◽

Salivary Gland Tumors ◽

Sublingual Administration ◽

Type I ◽

Type I Ifn ◽

Tumor Models ◽

Antitumor Effects ◽

Duct Carcinoma ◽

Administration Routes

Salivary gland tumors are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms representing less than 10% of all head and neck tumors. Among salivary gland tumors, salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) is a rare, but highly aggressive malignant tumor resembling ductal breast carcinoma. Sublingual treatments are promising for SDC due to the induction of both local and systemic biological effects and to reduced systemic toxicity compared to other administration routes. In the present study, we first established that the sublingual administration of type I IFN (IFN-I) is safe and feasible, and exerts antitumor effects both as monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapy in transplantable tumor models, i.e., B16-OVA melanoma and EG.7-OVA lymphoma. Subsequently, we proved that sublingual IFN-I in combination with cyclophosphamide (CTX) induces a long-lasting reduction of tumor mass in NeuT transgenic mice that spontaneously develop SDC. Most importantly, tumor shrinkage in NeuT transgenic micewas accompanied by the emergence of tumor-specific cellular immune responses both in the blood and in the tumor tissue. Altogether, these results provide evidence that sublingual IFN holds promise in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of cancer.

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