About this Research Topic
Hematophagous arthropods face many challenges when trying to get a blood meal from a vertebrate host. The host reacts with a variety of mechanisms that include hemostasis, inflammation, and immunity. To evade these barriers, blood-feeding arthropods developed a complex salivary cocktail of bioactive molecules that avoid hemostasis and have immunomodulatory properties. In addition to that, arthropods saliva can also carry pathogens that exploit salivary immunopharmacological activities and facilitate infection.
The “omics” advent represents a revolution in the research of saliva from blood-feeding arthropods, providing catalogs of potential new molecules to be explored in silico and in biological platforms. It has opened new venues for the discovery and development of saliva-derived biotherapeutic molecules employed in different clinical conditions. Contributions to this interdisciplinary field are expected in the present Research Topic to advance the knowledge on the “functional immunome” of bioactive salivary molecules from sand flies, mosquitoes, ticks, and other arthropod vectors.
Hematophagous arthropods inject saliva into the vertebrate host skin, creating a natural interaction of vector-host-pathogen. Once known as a cocktail of pharmacologically active molecules that exacerbate parasite infection, vector saliva studies now transcend to other research fields. The identification and characterization of bioactive salivary molecules are extremely important for the development of future vaccines against vector-borne diseases (e.g. Leishmaniasis, Chagas Diseases, West Nile virus, Chikungunya, Dengue, Zika, Yellow Fever, and others) and as an alternative treatment of other conditions such as cancer and autoimmune diseases. For this, we believe that the use of “functional immunome” of salivary molecules from blood-feeding vectors will give a great contribution to this area.
The scope of this article collection includes:
1. New salivary molecules and their activity on host immunity
2. Salivary allergens
3. The role of arthropod saliva in microbial infectivity and facilitation of disease transmission
4. Saliva-based vaccines to prevent vector-borne diseases
5. Phylogenetic studies of salivary molecules presenting immunomodulatory properties
6. Salivary molecules as anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory agents
7. Immunotherapies involving arthropod saliva and salivary molecules
The “omics” advent represents a revolution in the research of saliva from blood-feeding arthropods, providing catalogs of potential new molecules to be explored in silico and in biological platforms. It has opened new venues for the discovery and development of saliva-derived biotherapeutic molecules employed in different clinical conditions. Contributions to this interdisciplinary field are expected in the present Research Topic to advance the knowledge on the “functional immunome” of bioactive salivary molecules from sand flies, mosquitoes, ticks, and other arthropod vectors.
Hematophagous arthropods inject saliva into the vertebrate host skin, creating a natural interaction of vector-host-pathogen. Once known as a cocktail of pharmacologically active molecules that exacerbate parasite infection, vector saliva studies now transcend to other research fields. The identification and characterization of bioactive salivary molecules are extremely important for the development of future vaccines against vector-borne diseases (e.g. Leishmaniasis, Chagas Diseases, West Nile virus, Chikungunya, Dengue, Zika, Yellow Fever, and others) and as an alternative treatment of other conditions such as cancer and autoimmune diseases. For this, we believe that the use of “functional immunome” of salivary molecules from blood-feeding vectors will give a great contribution to this area.
The scope of this article collection includes:
1. New salivary molecules and their activity on host immunity
2. Salivary allergens
3. The role of arthropod saliva in microbial infectivity and facilitation of disease transmission
4. Saliva-based vaccines to prevent vector-borne diseases
5. Phylogenetic studies of salivary molecules presenting immunomodulatory properties
6. Salivary molecules as anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory agents
7. Immunotherapies involving arthropod saliva and salivary molecules
Keywords: infection, hematophagous vectors, Immunomodulation, immunotherapy, bioactive molecules, saliva
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.
