Human Rickettsial Pathogen Modulates Arthropod Organic Anion Transporting Polypeptide and Tryptophan Pathway for Its Survival in Ticks

Authors

Vikas Taank, Old Dominion University
Shovan Dutta, Old Dominion University
Amrita Dasgupta, Old Dominion University
Durland Fish
John F. Anderson
Hameeda Sultana, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Girish Neelakanta, Old Dominion UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-2017

DOI

10.1038/s41598-017-13559-x

Publication Title

Scientific Reports

Volume

7

Issue

1

Pages

13256 (13 pp.)

Abstract

The black-legged tick Ixodes scapularis transmits the human anaplasmosis agent, Anaplasma phagocytophilum. In this study, we show that A. phagocytophilum specifically up-regulates I. scapularis organic anion transporting polypeptide, isoatp4056 and kynurenine amino transferase (kat), a gene involved in the production of tryptophan metabolite xanthurenic acid (XA), for its survival in ticks. RNAi analysis revealed that knockdown of isoatp4056 expression had no effect on A. phagocytophilum acquisition from the murine host but affected the bacterial survival in tick cells. Knockdown of the expression of kat mRNA alone or in combination with isoatp4056 mRNA significantly affected A. phagocytophilum survival and isoatp4056 expression in tick cells. Exogenous addition of XA induces isoatp4056 expression and A. phagocytophilum burden in both tick salivary glands and tick cells. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays provide further evidence that A. phagocytophilum and XA influences isoatp4056 expression. Collectively, this study provides important novel information in understanding the interplay between molecular pathways manipulated by a rickettsial pathogen to survive in its arthropod vector.

Rights

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Original Publication Citation

Taank, V., Dutta, S., Dasgupta, A., Steeves, T. K., Fish, D., Anderson, J. F., . . . Neelakanta, G. (2017). Human rickettsial pathogen modulates arthropod organic anion transporting polypeptide and tryptophan pathway for its survival in ticks. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 13256. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-13559-x

Repository Citation

Taank, Vikas; Dutta, Shovan; Dasgupta, Amrita; Fish, Durland; Anderson, John F.; Sultana, Hameeda; and Neelakanta, Girish, "Human Rickettsial Pathogen Modulates Arthropod Organic Anion Transporting Polypeptide and Tryptophan Pathway for Its Survival in Ticks" (2017). Biological Sciences Faculty Publications. 220.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/biology_fac_pubs/220