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In This Article

  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Protocol
  • Representative Results
  • Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Materials
  • References
  • Reprints and Permissions

Summary

The present protocol describes the isolation of microRNAs from tick salivary glands and purified extracellular vesicles. This is a universal procedure that combines commonly used reagents and supplies. The method also allows the use of a small number of ticks, resulting in quality microRNAs that can be readily sequenced.

Abstract

Ticks are important ectoparasites that can vector multiple pathogens. The salivary glands of ticks are essential for feeding as their saliva contains many effectors with pharmaceutical properties that can diminish host immune responses and enhance pathogen transmission. One group of such effectors are microRNAs (miRNAs). miRNAs are short non-coding sequences that regulate host gene expression at the tick-host interface and within the organs of the tick. These small RNAs are transported in the tick saliva via extracellular vesicles (EVs), which serve inter-and intracellular communication. Vesicles containing miRNAs have been identified in the saliva of ticks. However, little is known about the roles and profiles of the miRNAs in tick salivary vesicles and glands. Furthermore, the study of vesicles and miRNAs in tick saliva requires tedious procedures to collect tick saliva. This protocol aims to develop and validate a method for isolating miRNAs from purified extracellular vesicles produced by ex vivo organ cultures. The materials and methodology needed to extract miRNAs from extracellular vesicles and tick salivary glands are described herein.

Introduction

Ticks are ectoparasites that vector many pathogens to wildlife, livestock, humans, and their pets1,2. Tick feeding results in significant economic loss by causing damage to hide, reducing weight and milk production due to severe anemia, and the transmission of potentially deadly disease-causing pathogens1,3,4,5. Current control practices for managing tick populations are focused on the use of acaricides. Nevertheless, the continuous emergence of acaricide resistance in ticks parasiti....

Protocol

All animal experiments were performed following animal usage protocol (AUP#2020-0026) approved by the institutional animal care and use committee (AICUC) at Texas A&M University. The tick species, Ixodes scapularis and Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, and New Zealand Male White Rabbits, 42-72 days of age, were used for the present study. I. scapularis was received from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Oklahoma State University, certified as pathogen-free. R. microp.......

Representative Results

The present protocol provides a detailed methodology to extract miRNAs from salivary glands and EVs. According to the results, this protocol is effective for the isolation of miRNA from adults of two different tick species, I. scapularis and R. microplus, and can potentially be used in other tick species as well. The EVs concentration (particles/mL) was measured via NTA. For R. microplus, each gender and life stage contained three biological replicates measured in three technical repli.......

Discussion

The current protocol provides a detailed methodology for extracting miRNA from salivary glands and EVs. However, there are important considerations, all of which are detailed in the notes for each section of this protocol. The capsule and mesh netting must be secured during tick feeding to prevent ticks from escaping. The capsule preparation and placement are described in Koga et al.40. Several replicates of the tick dissections need to be done if an unsuitable sample is discarded. Additionally, s.......

Acknowledgements

We are greatly appreciative for the assistance from the Cattle Fever tick Laboratory in Edinburg, Texas. We would like to thank Michael Moses, Jason Tidwell, James Hellums, Cesario Agado, and Homer Vasquez. We would also like to acknowledge the assistance of Sarah Sharpton, Elizabeth Lohstroh, Amy Filip, Kelsey Johnson, Kelli Kochcan, Andrew Hillhouse, Charluz Arocho Rosario, and Stephanie Guzman Valencia throughout the project. We would like to thank the Texas A&M Aggie Women in Entomology (AWE) Writing Group for their help and advice during the writing of this manuscript. The following reagents were provided by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for dist....

Materials

NameCompanyCatalog NumberComments
0.22 µm syringe filterGenClone25-240
1 µm nylon syringe filterTisch Scientific283129028
1 inch black adhesiveAmazonB00FQ937NMCapsule
10 mL needeless syringeExelint26265
3' and 5' AdaptersIllumina20024906NEXTFLEX Small RNA-Seq Kit
4 mm vannas scissorsFine Science Tools15000-08
4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acidSigma-Aldrich1.1523
70Ti rotorBeckman Coulter337922
AmphotericinCorning30-003-CF
BeadsIllumina20024906NEXTFLEX Small RNA-Seq Kit
BioanalyzerAgilentG2939BA
Bioanalyzer kitAgilent5067-1513
Centrifuge 5425Eppendorf
ChloroformMacronUN1888
Cyverse Discovery Enviornmenthttps://cyverse.org/discovery-environment
Dissecting microscopeNikonSMZ745
Double-sideded carpet tapeamazon‎286373
Falcon Tubes, 50 mLVWR21008-940
Fetal Bovine SerumGibcoFBS-02-0050
fine forcepsExcelta5-S-SE
Foamies, 2 mmAmazonB004M5QGBQCapsule
IsofluranePhoenix Pharmaceuticals manfactured193.33165.3
Ixodes scaplarisCDC, Oklahoma State University
L15C300 mediumIn-lab
lipoprotein-cholesterol concentrateMPI02191476-CF
Microscope slideVWR10118-596
miRDeep2https://github.com/rajewsky-lab/mirdeep2
M-MuLV Reverse TranscriptaseIllumina20024906NEXTFLEX Small RNA-Seq Kit
molecular grade ethanolFischer BioreagentsUN1170
multi-well 24 well tissue culture treated plateCorning353047
Nanopaticle Tracking Analyzer machineMalvern Panalytical
Nanosep with 300K Omega filterPall CorporationOD3003C33
NEXTFLEX Small RNA-Seq Kit v3PerkinElmer
NextSeq 500/550 High Output Kit (75 cycles)Illumina20024906
Optima XPN 90 UltracentrifugeBeckman Coulter
PenicillinThermofischer ScientificICN19453780
PippettesEpendorff
polycarbonate centrifuge bottleBeckman Coulter355618
Qiagen miRNeasy kitQiagen217084
QIAzol lysis reagentQiagen79306
QubitThermofisherQ32880
Qubit kitThermofisherQ10212
RabbitsCharles River
Reverse Universal PrimerIllumina20024906NEXTFLEX Small RNA-Seq Kit
Rhipicephalus microplusCattle Fever Tick Research Labratoty
RifampicinFischer Bioreagents215544
RNAlaterInvitrogen833280
RNAse free tubesVWR87003294
RNAse inhibitorThermo Fischer11111729
RNAse/DNAse free waterQiagen217084
RNeasy Minelute spin columnQiagen217084Qiagen miRNeasy kit
RPE BufferQiagen217084Qiagen miRNeasy kit
RT BufferIllumina20024906NEXTFLEX Small RNA-seq kit
RT Forward PrimerIllumina20024906NEXTFLEX Small RNA-seq kit
RTE BufferQiagen217084Qiagen miRNeasy kit
Sodium bicarbonateSigma-AldrichS6014-25G
Sorvall ST16Thermo Fischer75004380
Sterilized Gauze spongesCovidien2187
Sterilized PBSSigmaRNBK0694
streptomycinthermofischer Scientific15240062
TapeStationAligentG2991BA
Tear Mender Instant Fabric and Leather AdhesiveAmazon7.42836E+11Capsule
Tissue Adhesive3M VetBond
Triple Antibioticsdechra17033-122-75
Tryptose phosphate brothBDBD 260300

References

  1. Jongejan, F., Uilenberg, G. The global importance of ticks. Parasitology. 129, 3-14 (2004).
  2. Anderson, J. F., Magnarelli, L. A. Biology of ticks. Infectious Disease Clinics of North America. 22 (2), 195-215 (2008).
  3. de la Fuente, J.

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