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Identification of a novel protein Hq023 of the hard tick Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis and preliminary evaluation of its analgesic effect in mice model.

Tong XianMeina CaoKaiting ChenWenbin ZhaoYueqing LiuWenjing YaoHui GuangYinran YangMuya SuRuijuan ZhangJing MaLinyuan MaJinliang Gao
Published in: Parasitology international (2024)
Tick saliva contains a range of critical biological molecules which could inhibit host defenses and guarantee their food supply. Hq023, a novel cDNA sequence, was cloned from a cDNA library constructed from salivary glands of partially-engorged Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis. Hq023 has an open reading frame (ORF) of 408 bp coding a protein containing 135 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 15 kDa. Database homology showed that Hq023 protein was structurally similar to a natural toxin U33-theraphotoxin-Cg1c from the Chinese tarantula Chilobrachys guangxiensis. A recombinant protein was expressed with the novel cDNA in a prokaryotic system and its analgesic effect was evaluated in mice model. Both tail immersion and hot-plate tests uncovered an antinociceptive activity, while in the acetic acid-induced writhing test this effect was not observed. These results indicated that the novel recombinant protein Hq023 (rHq023) probably possessed a central antinociceptive activity. Finding of the novel protein might pave a new avenue for the development of tick-derived analgesics.
Keyphrases
  • amino acid
  • protein protein
  • binding protein
  • escherichia coli
  • type diabetes
  • small molecule
  • neuropathic pain
  • high fat diet induced
  • insulin resistance
  • spinal cord
  • cell free
  • single molecule