Study demonstrates for the first time that ticks weaken skin's immune response jclinicalinvest
During cutaneous tick attachment, the feeding cavity becomes a site of transmission for tick salivary compounds and tick-borne pathogens. However, the immunological consequences of tick feeding on human skin remain unclear. Here, we assessed human skin and blood samples upon tick bite and developed a human skin explant model mimickingbite and tick-borne pathogen infection.
T cells up-regulated tissue-residency markers, while lymphocytic cytokine production was impaired. In early stages ofmodel infections, we detected strain-specific immune responses and close spatial relationships of macrophages and spirochetes. Pre-incubation of spirochetes with tick salivary gland extracts hampered accumulation of immune cells and increased spirochete loads.