The specific aim of this proposal is to improve survival and proliferative ability of tick cell lines. Drawing upon recent improvements in the tissue culture of insect cells that have led to the commercial scale-up of recombinant proteins expressed in insect cells, nutritional, physiological, biochemical, and biophysical parameters for optimum tick cell growth in culture will be established. Additionally, the ability to introduce heterologous DNA into tick cells will be investigated. The long-term goal of this proposal is to generate tissue-specific tick cell lines which will have cofmmercial relevance in the formulation of vaccines to prevent the infestation of tick vectors which are capable of carrying disease agents to animal and human hosts.
