Bottom view of a larval blacklegged tick. The tick was microinjected with various fluorescent dyes to enhance visual appearance. Credit: Utpal Pal/ University of Maryland
The finding suggests that other cell signaling pathways may have been adapted for novel uses in other organisms and points to a new area in immunology andOn the right side is a control blacklegged nymphal tick with a normal body.
As in all cellular signaling pathways, a specific molecule senses something in the environment and then binds to a receptor on the outside of a cell wall. This sets off a cascade of reactions inside the cell that turns a specific gene on or off and produces a response to whatever outside stimuli was sensed.
The researchers discovered that a protein in tick digestive systems was serving as the JAK/STAT receptor, and that it had evolved to bind with the cytokine protein interferon, which is produced by the immune systems of mammals infected with a bacteria likeThe researchers also found that the JAK/STAT receptor and pathway are important for normal tick development, even if the pathway is not activated by an infected blood meal.
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