Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States. It is caused by the spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, and is transmitted to humans in the northeast United States by Ixodes dammini, the northern deer tick. Worldwide, these and other Ixodid ticks are the most important hematophagous arthropod vectors of infectious diseases to animals and second in importance, to mosquitos, as vectors of infectious pathogens to humans. Studies have demonstrated that tick bites are difficult to recognize and often go unrecognized. This inability to recognize tick bites is a hindrance to the prevention of the disease and to its epidemiologic investigation. Biological markers of exposure to ticks would thus have utility in epidemiologic studies of risk factors for Lyme disease and in the prevention of the disease. A large body of literature documents that hosts develop complex immunologic reactions to ticks; it has been demonstrated that laboratory animals produce antibodies to several components of I. dammini saliva and recent studies suggest that human antibodies to tick salivary gland proteins may be a useful biological marker of exposure to ticks. The overall goal of this proposal is to validate a biological marker of tick exposure, anti-tick salivary gland protein antibody (ATA) in human serum, and to show the utility of such a marker in epidemiologic studies of Lyme disease. Several field-based epidemiologic studies, and laboratory experiments aimed at optimizing ELISA conditions for the assays and identifying specific protein components of I. dammini saliva that elicit antibody response, are included. The goals of the field-based studies are to establish the sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of ATA in workers presenting with a recent tick bite, follow the time course of development of ATA in such workers (kinetics), examine the individual variability of human responses to the antigen, and evaluate the use of ATA as an outcome measure (dependent variable) of tick exposure, first in observational epidemiologic studies, then in a randomized controlled trial of permethrin in outdoor workers.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
First Independent Research Support & Transition (FIRST) Awards (R29)
Project #
5R29AI031608-02
Application #
3455901
Study Section
Epidemiology and Disease Control Subcommittee 2 (EDC)
Project Start
1991-08-01
Project End
1996-05-31
Budget Start
1992-08-01
Budget End
1993-05-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
1992
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Johns Hopkins University
Department
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
045911138
City
Baltimore
State
MD
Country
United States
Zip Code
21218
Sanders, M L; Glass, G E; Nadelman, R B et al. (1999) Antibody levels to recombinant tick calreticulin increase in humans after exposure to Ixodes scapularis (Say) and are correlated with tick engorgement indices. Am J Epidemiol 149:777-84
Sanders, M L; Jaworski, D C; Sanchez, J L et al. (1998) Antibody to a cDNA-derived calreticulin protein from Amblyomma americanum as a biomarker of tick exposure in humans. Am J Trop Med Hyg 59:279-85
Sanders, M L; Glass, G E; Scott, A L et al. (1998) Kinetics and cross-species comparisons of host antibody responses to lone star ticks and American dog ticks (Acari: Ixodidae). J Med Entomol 35:849-56
Sanders, M L; Scott, A L; Glass, G E et al. (1996) Salivary gland changes and host antibody responses associated with feeding of male lone star ticks (Acari:Ixodidae). J Med Entomol 33:628-34
Craig, L E; Norris, D E; Sanders, M L et al. (1996) Acquired resistance and antibody response of raccoons (Procyon lotor) to sequential feedings of Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae). Vet Parasitol 63:291-301
Schwartz, B S; Sanchez, J L; Sanders, M L et al. (1996) Tick avoidance behaviors associated with a decreased risk of anti-tick salivary gland protein antibody seropositivity in military personnel exposed to Amblyomma americanum in Arkansas. Am J Trop Med Hyg 55:410-6
Glass, G E; Schwartz, B S; Morgan III, J M et al. (1995) Environmental risk factors for Lyme disease identified with geographic information systems. Am J Public Health 85:944-8
Schwartz, B S; Goldstein, M D; Childs, J E (1994) Longitudinal study of Borrelia burgdorferi infection in New Jersey outdoor workers, 1988-1991. Am J Epidemiol 139:504-12
Parrott, C; Johnson, K; Strauss, S et al. (1993) Lyme disease in outdoor workers on Assateague Island: high tick-exposure but low disease risk. Md Med J 42:165-8
Schwartz, B S; Nadelman, R B; Fish, D et al. (1993) Entomologic and demographic correlates of anti-tick saliva antibody in a prospective study of tick bite subjects in Westchester County, New York. Am J Trop Med Hyg 48:50-7

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