Tick Bites Induce Anti-alpha-Gal Antibodies in Dogs

0519672 - BC 2020 RIV CH eng J - Journal Article
Hodžić, A. - Mateos-Hernández, L. - Leschnik, M. - Alberdi, P. - Rego, Ryan O. M. - Contreras, M. - Villar, M. - de la Fuente, J. - Cabezas-Cruz, A. - Duscher, G. G.
Tick Bites Induce Anti-alpha-Gal Antibodies in Dogs.
Vaccines. Roč. 7, č. 3 (2019), č. článku 114. E-ISSN 2076-393X
Institutional support: RVO:60077344
Keywords : red meat allergy * immune-response * cell-lines * association * expression * infection * igg * alpha-Gal * immune response * dog * tick bite * Ixodes ricinus * pathogens
OECD category: Immunology
Impact factor: 4.086, year: 2019
Method of publishing: Open access
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/7/3/114

Due to the functional inactivation of the gene encoding for the enzyme that is involved in the oligosaccharide galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose (alpha-Gal) synthesis, humans and Old-World primates are able to produce a large amount of antibodies against the glycan epitope. Apart from being involved in the hyperacute organ rejection in humans, anti-alpha-Gal antibodies have shown a protective effect against some pathogenic agents and an implication in the recently recognized tick-induced mammalian meat allergy. Conversely, non-primate mammals, including dogs, have the ability to synthetize alpha-Gal and, thus, their immune system is not expected to naturally generate the antibodies toward this self-antigen molecule. However, in the current study, we detected specific IgG, IgM, and IgE antibodies to alpha-Gal in sera of clinically healthy dogs by an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the first time. Furthermore, in a tick infestation experiment, we showed that bites of Ixodes ricinus induce the immune response to alpha-Gal in dogs and that the resulting antibodies (IgM) might be protective against Anaplasma phagocytophilum. These findings may help lead to a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms involved in mammalian meat allergy and tick-host-pathogen interactions, but they also open up the question about the possibility that dogs could develop an allergy to mammalian meat after tick bites, similar to that in humans.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0304668