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Hyalomma asiaticum is considered as the vector tick species which can carry and transmit Theileria annulata, Anaplasma marginale and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus to humans and animals, causing a great risk to animal husbandry and posing a threat to public health as well as economic losses. In the present study, we investigated the morphology and changes of the male reproductive system for this species at different developmental stages.

Ticks are vector pests and their biology and control are of worldwide concern. Microbiota play an important role in tick physiology, and antibiotic treatments are mostly used to explore the interactions between ticks and symbiotic microorganisms. In addition to altering the host microbial community, antibiotics also exhibit toxic effects on the host. In the tick Haemaphysalis longicornis, the engorged female ticks showed reproductive disruption after microinjection of tetracycline, as evidenced by prolonged oviposition time, reduced reproductive efficiency and hatchability, and abnormal oocyte development.

Abiotic stress is an important factor that can influence the survival and development of ticks. DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification that has been implicated in the adaptation of plants and insects to abiotic stress, but its role in the response of ticks to abiotic stress remains unclear. Herein, we explore the DNA methylation profile of the tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis exposed to low-temperature stress using whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS).

Haemaphysalis longicornis is one of the most important tick species distributed globally. It transmits various pathogens that cause great damage to human health, livestock production, and wild animals. Knowledge of the character of transferrin (Tsf) in insects has grown rapidly during the last decades. However, Tsf in ticks is still poorly understood. Here, we identified for the first time a new iron metabolism-related gene, namely, Tsf, in ticks. The open reading frame (ORF) of the Tsf gene in H. longicornis contained 2,412 bp, which encoded a protein of 803 amino acids.

A Coxiella-like endosymbiont (Coxiella-LE hereinafter) stably infects and influences Haemaphysalis longicornis development, indicating a mutualistic relationship of Coxiella-LE and ticks. To further elucidate the patterns of growth dynamics and tissue localization of Coxiella-LE in H. longicornis, 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing, quantitative PCR (qPCR), and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were used in this study. The density of Coxiella-LE varied among different tick life stages, and fed female ticks had the highest density, followed by unfed female and unfed larval ticks. In the four organs that were dissected from fed female ticks, the ovary carried the highest density of Coxiella-LE, which was significantly different from salivary glands, midgut and Malpighian tubules. The high abundance of Coxiella-LE in fed female ticks and in the ovaries of fed female ticks in the bacterial microbiota analyses further confirmed that Coxiella-LE rapidly proliferates in the ovary after blood feeding. The ovaries continued to develop after engorgement and oviposition began on day 5, with a significant decrease in the density of Coxiella-LE in the ovaries occurring on day 7. FISH results indicated that Coxiella-LE is mainly colonized in the cytoplasm of the oocyte and proliferates with oogenesis. Coxiella-LE was expelled from the body with the mature oocyte, ensuring its vertical transmission. In the Malpighian tubules at different days after engorgement, the white flocculent materials were increasing, and the density of Coxiella-LE raised significantly on day 7. Unlike the localization pattern in the ovary, Coxiella-LE was initially distributed in a mass and continually increased during the development of Malpighian tubules until it filled the Malpighian tubules. These findings provide new insights on the growth dynamics and tissue localization of Coxiella-LE in ticks and are useful for further investigation on the interactions of symbiont and ticks .

BackgroundBabesia is a protozoan parasite in red blood cells of some vertebrates. Some species of Babesia can cause zoonoses and cause great harm. As the largest immune organ in mammals, the spleen plays an important role in defending against Babesia infection. When infected with Babesia, the spleen is seriously injured, but it still actively initiates immunomodulatory responses.MethodsIn order to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying the immune regulation and self-repair of the spleen in response to infection, this study used data-independent acquisition (DIA) quantitative proteomics to analyse changes in expression levels of global proteins and changes in phosphorylation modification in spleen tissue after Babesia microti infection in mice.ResultsAfter the mice were infected with B. microti, their spleen were seriously damaged.Using bioinfor-matics methods to analyze the dynamic changes of a large number of proteins, we found that spleen still initiated immune response to deal with the infection, in which immune-related proteins played an important role, including CTSD, IFI44, ILF2, ILF, and STAT5A. In addition, some proteins related to iron metabolism were also involved in the repair of spleen against B. microti infection, including serotransferrin, lactoferrin, TfR1, and GCL. At the same time, the expression and phosphorylation of proteins related to the growth and development of the spleen also changed, including PKC-δ and MAPK3/1, Grb2, and PAK2. ConclusionsImmune-related proteins, iron metabolism-related proteins and growth and development-related proteins play an important important role in the regulation of spleen injury and maintenance of homeostasis. This study will provide important bases for the diagnosis and treatment of babesiosis.

Among arthropod vectors, ticks transmit the most diverse human and animal pathogens, leading to an increasing number of new challenges worldwide. Here we sequenced and assembled high-quality genomes of six ixodid tick species and further resequenced 678 tick specimens to understand three key aspects of ticks: genetic diversity, population structure, and pathogen distribution. We explored the genetic basis common to ticks, including heme and hemoglobin digestion, iron metabolism, and reactive oxygen species, and unveiled for the first time that genetic structure and pathogen composition in different tick species are mainly shaped by ecological and geographic factors. We further identified species-specific determinants associated with different host ranges, life cycles, and distributions. The findings of this study are an invaluable resource for research and control of ticks and tick-borne diseases.

Background: The tick Haemaphysalis longicornis is well known as vector of several zoonotic pathogens responsible for various clinical conditions, increasingly threatens the veterinary and public health. It is mainly distributed in East Asia, New Zealand, Australia, and several Pacific islands, and has been expanded rapidly in United States since its first founding on a nonimported domestic sheep in New Jersey. Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are phase II detoxification enzymes, which function via combining with pesticidal molecules and catalyzing the conjugation of molecules by thiol of glutathione, so as to protect tissues from oxidative stress damage. In the tick H. longicornis, glutathione S-transferases (HlGST and HlGST2) have been previously identified. However, the relationship between the expression of glutathione S-transferases and the essential oil treatment in ticks remains unexplored. Hence, in the present study, the expression profiles of HlGST and HlGST2 mRNAs were evaluated in H. longicornis after exposure to Cymbopogon citratus essential oil. Results: At 24 h post-exposure of H. longicornis to different sublethal concentrations of C. citratus essential oil, ANOVA results revealed significant difference (F2,6 = 55.94, P = 0.0001) in the expression of HlGST. Tukey’s test showed that HlGST was significantly induced after treatment with 1% C. citratus essential oil (P = 0.0002); whereas no significant difference (P = 0.3551) was detected after treated by 2% C. citratus essential oil. No significant difference (F2,6 = 0.8990, P = 0.4555) in the expression of HlGST2 between the treatment and the control group of 50% ethanol. Nevertheless, the under-expression of HlGST2 in the treatment groups versus the untreated control group was not significant (F3,8 = 2.643, P = 0.1208). Conclusion: The results implied that GST mRNA is a potential molecular target for C. citratus essential oil in H. longicornis. Further understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the GST at the molecular level could contribute to develop effective control measures for ticks and tick-borne diseases.

Ticks are obligate blood‐sucking ectoparasites, which not only directly damage through bites but also transmit many pathogens. China has a high diversity of tick species, 125 species have been reported, including 111 hard tick and 14 soft tick species. Many of the ticks are important vectors of pathogens, resulting in zoonoses. The dynamics of ticks are affected by both the host and habitat environment. However, systematic studies on the geographical distribution, host diversity, and specificity of ticks are limited in China. To achieve this goal, the relevant available data were summarized and analyzed in this study. Ticks are distributed in all parts of China and Xinjiang has the most records of ticks. The distribution of ticks in adjacent areas is similar, indicating that the habitat environment affects their distribution. Most ticks are widely distributed, whereas some species are endemic to their distributed regions. Ticks are parasitic on mammals, birds, and reptiles, of which mammals are the main host species. Overall, most ticks parasitize different hosts, only a few ticks have strict host specificity, such as ticks that are specifically parasitic on reptiles and bats. In addition, environmental changes and control efforts also influence the dynamics of ticks. These results can better reveal tick biological traits and are valuable for tick control., Ticks distribute in whole regions of China, and their distributions are mainly influenced by habitat environment. Most ticks feed on different hosts, only a few ticks have strict host specificity.

Ticks are exclusive blood-feeding parasites that are of medical and veterinary importance. Ticks are also host for several maternally inherited symbiotic bacteria that are non-pathogenic bacteria and have potential roles in tick biology and the transmission of co-infecting pathogens. In order to gain a comprehensive view of these symbionts in ticks, we overviewed their incidence and biological importance within ticks based on available data. The symbionts in ticks are diverse, and their incidence and frequency vary across different tick species and different geographical populations of the same species. In some cases, symbionts of Coxiella, Francisella and Rickettsia genera may provide tick hosts essential nutrients absent from the exclusive food source of ticks and exhibit mutualistic relationships with their hosts. However, most symbionts are facultative and affect the biological phenotypes of their tick hosts through various ways. For some strains of Coxiella and Francisella, advanced genomic data and phylogenetic investigations have revealed their interactions with hosts and their evolutionary transitions of pathogenic and mutualistic forms. These findings are valuable for understanding tick-symbiont associations, and may help to develop new strategies to control ticks and tick-borne diseases.

In this study, three new species belonging to the genus Pholcus, collected from a forest of the Taihang Mountains, P. R. China, are described under the names of Pholcus papillatus sp. n. (male, female), Pholcus curvus sp. n. (male, female) and Pholcus auricularis sp. n. (male, female).

The current paper introduces the recent research and development on the cryobiology of ticks, based on their overwinter behavior strategy and biochemical and physiological adaptation mechanisms, and provides detail information on the cold hardiness, biochemical and physiological mechanisms, the relationship between cold hardiness and diapause, which will give theoretical clues for subsequent research on the molecular regulation of cold hardiness of ticks.

Studies have shown chemopreventive and/or chemotherapeutic effects of several curcumin-based combinatorial treatments on colorectal cancer cells. However, their in vivo effects remain unclear. This study has demonstrated the therapeutic effect of curcumin and oxaliplatin, alone or in combination, on subcutaneously xenografted LoVo human colorectal cancer cells in immunodeficient (nu/nu) mice in vivo. Combinatorial administration of curcumin and oxaliplatin evidently inhibited the growth of colorectal cancer in nude mice, which was significantly more effective than either agent alone. Curcumin combined with oxaliplatin treatment induced apoptosis, accompanied by ultrastructural changes and cell cycle arrest in S and G2/M phases. Further mechanism analysis indicated that while the number of apoptotic tumor cells and the expression of Bax, caspase-3, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) increased significantly, the expression of Bcl-2, survivin, HSP70, pro-caspase-3, and pro-PARP were dramatically suppressed in tumor cells after the treatment with combinatorial curcumin and oxaliplatin for 22 days. Taken together, the present study has demonstrated that administration of combined curcumin and oxaliplatin effectively suppressed colorectal carcinoma in vivo through inducing apoptosis and thus may provide an effective treatment for colorectal carcinoma.

To discuss the biological function and regulation mechanism of curcumin in promoting human colorectal carcinoma (LoVo) cells apoptosis.Conventional in vitro culture in human colorectal carcinoma cells LoVo, When 80%-90% confluence was reached, cells were treated with curcumin at different concentrations (0-20 mg x L(-1)). Curcumin's effect on cell proliferation level was examined by MTT colorimetry. The ultrastructure of curcumin-treated LoVo cells were observed with transmission electron microscope (TEM). The amount of PI-positive LoVo cells after the curcumin treatment were determined by flow cytometry. The cell apoptosis rate was detected by Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining. The mRNA level of Bax, Bcl-2, Caspase-3 and Bcl-xL were tested by means of RT-PCR.MTT test indicates curcumin could inhibite the growth and proliferation of LoVo cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. TEM examination showed that curcumin can make LoVo cell morphological changes, showing the typical characteristics of apoptotic cells. Flow cytometry instrument analysis showed that curcumin can arrest cell cycle at S phase, and induce apoptosis of LoVo cells. RT-PCR test showed that curcumin can activate the expression of Bax and Caspase-3, inhibit the expression of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL at the mRNA level.Curcumin can significantly inhibit the proliferation and induce the apoptosis of human colorectal carcinoma cells LoVo. Such biological effect may be associated with activating Caspase-3 signal channel by activating Bax expression and inhibiting Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL expression. This study lays an important foundation for further discussing the mechanism of curcumin in inducing human colorectal carcinoma LoVo apoptosis.

Curcumin, a natural plant extract from Curcuma longa, is known for its anti-carcinogenic and chemopreventive effects on a variety of experimental cancer models. In this study, we evaluated the effects of curcumin and elucidated its mechanism in human colorectal carcinoma cells. Cell viability assay showed that curcumin significantly inhibited the growth of LoVo cells. Curcumin treatment induced the apoptosis accompanied by ultra-structural changes and release of lactate dehydrogenase in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, treatment with 0-30 µg/mL curcumin decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential and activated the caspase-3 and caspase-9 in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Nuclear and annexin V/PI staining showed that curcumin induced the apoptosis of LoVo cells. FACS analysis revealed that curcumin could induce the cell cycle arrest of LoVo cells at the S phase. Furthermore, western blotting analysis indicated that curcumin induced the release of cytochrome c, a significant increase of Bax and p53 and a marked reduction of Bcl-2 and survivin in LoVo cells. Taken together, our results suggested that curcumin inhibited the growth of LoVo cells by inducing apoptosis through a mitochondria-mediated pathway.

Since molecular biology techniques were applied in the phylogeny of ticks in the late 20th century, changes have taken place in the nomenclature and taxonomy of ticks. However, the illustrated keys to families and genera of ticks published in China were incompetence and the taxonomic system was out of date. This article presents a manual of illustrated keys to families and genera of the superfamily Ixodoidea based on the taxonomic system proposed by Barker and Murrell (2004), and provides a foundation for morphological identification of ticks.

The influence of BSA on adsorption equilibrium of Ni2+ onto delta-MnO2 had been investigated using a batch method. It was showed that the adsorption-pH curves of Ni2+ onto delta-MnO2 were "S-shape" at [BSA] = 10 mg x L(-1), and the leaping range of adsorption would move to high value of pH in the presence of BSA. The extent of effect had relation to the adding order and the concentration of BSA, and the trend was IV (BSA added first)III (Ni2+ and BSA added simultaneously) approximately II (Ni2+ added first). The adsorption percentage decreased with increasing BSA concentration at the same value of pH. The Langmuir adsorption model fit the experimental date reasonably in the presence of BSA. The maximum adsorption capacity related to the BSA adding order was I (without BSA)II approximately IIIIV. In addition, the adsorption of Ni2+ onto delta-MnO2 increased with the rise of temperature. It was found that the adsorption was irreversible at pH = 4.0 and pH = 7.0. BSA had no effect on the reversibility of Ni2+ adsorption onto delta-MnO2.

In the present paper, microwave digestion technique was used to determine Ca, Zn, Cu, Mg and Fe in rat liver by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The effect of microwave digestion condition on the analysis results was examined and the best analysis condition of FAAS was selected. Compared to traditional wet methods, the experimental result showed that the method is rapid, sample digestion is complete, the blank value is low, and the measurement result is satisfactory. Applied to the determination of trace elements in rat liver, the method proved to be selective with satisfactory recovery of 96%-103% andrelative standard deviation of 1.0%-2.6%.