Drs. Girish Neelakanta and Hameeda Sultana, associate professors and vector-borne disease researchers from the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine Department of Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences, successfully renewed their competing NIH R01 grant, “Anaplasma phagocytophilum modulate tick gene expression for its survival and transmission from the vector host.” This is a five-year grant that started in July 2024 with a budget totaling around 1.8 million dollars.
Human anaplasmosis, caused by A. phagocytophilum bacteria, is the second most common tick-borne disease in the United States. Anaplasma phagocytophilum also infects several domesticated animals. A. phagocytophilum is an obligate intracellular bacterium that is transmitted to humans and animals by the bite of an infected black-legged Ixodes scapularis tick. In the previous funding period, the researchers’ laboratories have published several manuscripts in high impact peer-reviewed journals that detailed the role of arthropod transporter protein and tryptophan pathway in the survival and transmission of A. phagocytophilum from ticks to the naïve vertebrate host. In the current funding period, they will be performing immunization studies to understand whether blocking arthropod molecules affect transmission of this bacteria from ticks to the vertebrate host. In addition, they will perform molecular studies to decipher the role of arthropod tryptophan pathway and microRNAs in the transmission of this bacteria from ticks to the vertebrate host.
Collectively. these studies not only provide information to understand interactions of pathogens with their arthropod vectors but also could lead to the development of vaccines to prevent transmission of disease from vectors and perhaps other tick-borne diseases of medical importance.
To read more about the work our vector-borne researchers are doing, visit the following links to view some of their publications:
