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Toledo Lab

Tick-borne diseases laboratory

Epidemics of vector-borne pathogens have dramatically changed in recent years, as we have witnessed the introduction of Zika and West Nile viruses in the US, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in south-western Europe, and the continuous emergence of Lyme disease throughout the Northeast of the USA and central Europe. Ticks are the most important vectors for infectious diseases in the northern hemisphere and second after mosquitoes worldwide. As a result, there is an increasing public health interest in tick-borne pathogens.

We study ticks and tick-borne pathogens with a special emphasis on Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease. B. burgdorferi has a complex life cycle that involves two very distinct milieus, the tick mid gut and the vertebrate host. In order to survive, Borrelia tightly regulates the expression of numerous genes. Nonetheless, little is known about the sensing mechanisms by which the spirochete accomplishes this adaptation. Notably, B. burgdorferi requires cholesterol to grow but cannot synthesize it. The spirochete uptakes cholesterol from the host to makeup cholesterol glycolipids (CGal and ACGal), which are major lipid components of the spirochete membrane. These, cholesterol glycolipids sort themselves out in the membrane to form microdomains, also known as lipid rafts, which have a subset of specific proteins involved in important biological processes including sensing, signaling and protein trafficking.

As medical entomologists we are interested in surveillance, prevention and control of vector-borne diseases. One aspect that is under studied is how tick-borne pathogens and members of the tick’s microbiome interact and whether these interactions shape the ability of the tick to transmit and acquire pathogens.

Recent Posts

By toledolab Posted on January 15, 2021

New estimate for Lyme disease cases

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/27/2/20-2728_article

Categories: Uncategorized
By toledolab Posted on October 14, 2020October 14, 2020

Ticks, Lyme Disease, and Other Tick-Borne Diseases in Horses

https://njaes.rutgers.edu/fs1323/

Categories: Uncategorized
By toledolab Posted on August 13, 2020

Multiple pruritic tick bites by asian longhorned tick larvae (Haemaphysalis longicornis).

Congratulations to Matt Bickerton on his recently published work on the Asian longhorned tick. Full article link https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/GUSGT4BW6Q86J7R3KRQN/full?target=10.1080/01647954.2020.1805004

Categories: Uncategorized
By toledolab Posted on July 23, 2020

COVID-19 could lead to increase in tick-borne illness, experts say. Here’s why

https://www.kentucky.com/news/coronavirus/article244011582.html

Categories: Uncategorized
By toledolab Posted on June 5, 2019July 23, 2020

Preventing Ticks in the Yard

Ticks are small (3-5 mm long) blood-sucking arthropods and are divided into two main families: hard ticks and soft ticks, distinguished by ecological and behavioral differences. For example, hard ticks … Continue reading Preventing Ticks in the Yard

Categories: Uncategorized
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Center for Vector Biology

180 Jones Avenue
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
848-932-6853
alvaro dot toledo at rutgers dot edu
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