About this Research Topic
Vector-borne diseases are human and animal illnesses caused by parasites, viruses, and bacteria that are transmitted by mosquitoes, sandflies, triatomine bugs, flies, ticks, mites, fleas, and lice. Every year there are hundreds of thousands of deaths from diseases such as malaria, dengue, human African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, yellow fever, and Japanese encephalitis, globally. The major vector-borne diseases, together, account for around 17% of all infectious diseases. The burden of these diseases is highest in tropical and subtropical areas and they disproportionately affect the poorest populations. Distribution of vector-borne diseases is determined by complex demographic, environmental and social factors. Global travel and trade, unplanned urbanization and environmental challenges, such as climate change can impact on pathogen transmission, making the transmission season longer or more intense or causing diseases to emerge in countries where they were previously unknown.
Vectors are living organisms that can transmit infectious diseases between humans or from animals to humans. Many of these vectors are bloodsucking arthropods, which ingest disease-producing microorganisms during a blood meal from an infected host (human or animal) and later inject it into a new host during their subsequent blood meal. In their quest for a blood meal, vectors transmit pathogens and inject a cocktail of bioactive molecules into their vertebrate hosts. A comprehensive understanding of the importance of arthropod vector saliva can help shed light on vector-host-pathogen relationship and how these parasites overcome host defenses, revealing new molecules of potential use for control and therapeutic applications.
We encourage investigators to contribute to this Research Topic with original research, as well as review articles that will stimulate the continuing efforts to understand the role of vector saliva into the vector-host-pathogen relationship.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
· Genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic approaches used to study arthropod vector salivary gland function and its role in vector-host-pathogen relationships.
· Identification of mechanisms for the modulation of vertebrate host defense systems and transmission of pathogens by vector salivary molecules.
· Characterization of salivary proteins related to vector-host-pathogen relationships.
Vectors are living organisms that can transmit infectious diseases between humans or from animals to humans. Many of these vectors are bloodsucking arthropods, which ingest disease-producing microorganisms during a blood meal from an infected host (human or animal) and later inject it into a new host during their subsequent blood meal. In their quest for a blood meal, vectors transmit pathogens and inject a cocktail of bioactive molecules into their vertebrate hosts. A comprehensive understanding of the importance of arthropod vector saliva can help shed light on vector-host-pathogen relationship and how these parasites overcome host defenses, revealing new molecules of potential use for control and therapeutic applications.
We encourage investigators to contribute to this Research Topic with original research, as well as review articles that will stimulate the continuing efforts to understand the role of vector saliva into the vector-host-pathogen relationship.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
· Genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic approaches used to study arthropod vector salivary gland function and its role in vector-host-pathogen relationships.
· Identification of mechanisms for the modulation of vertebrate host defense systems and transmission of pathogens by vector salivary molecules.
· Characterization of salivary proteins related to vector-host-pathogen relationships.
Keywords: Vector, Saliva, Tropical Diseases, Arthropod, Host-Pathogen Interactions
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
