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Senior Scholar Award in Global Infectious Disease
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Alan G.
Barbour,
M.D.
University of California - Irvine
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Transmission-blocking Vaccines Against Arthropod Vectors
Several insects and ticks transmit infectious agents to humans through their saliva while
they feed on the host's blood. During and after this time, these arthropods are susceptible
to antibodies and other substances in the blood that are taken into the midguts of their
intestinal tracts. If there is disruption of the midgut, this interferes not only with digestion
by the tick but also with the passage of infectious agents as they migrate from intestinal
tract to their point of exit, the salivary glands. By targeting the midgut with vaccines and
other prevention strategies, we aim to interrupt transmission of infectious agents. Vaccine
candidates are being identified from libraries of recombinant DNA and by fractionating
midgut tissues obtained from ticks as they feed. For "proof-of-principle" we are studing
the transmission of the Lyme disease agent, Borrelia burgdorferi, to and from its vector, the
deer tick Ixodes scapularis, after immunization of its natural mouse reservoir, Peromyscus
leucopus, with the candidate vaccines. The experimental system for this project is
established in our laboratory and a field site in the northeastern United States. If
successful, the study could lead to development of arthropod-targeted vaccines for other
vector-borne diseases.
Contact
Dr. Barbour.
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