Savicalin, a lipocalin from hemocytes of the soft tick, Ornithodoros savignyi

The major tick salivary gland proteins and toxins from the soft tick, Ornithodoros savignyi, are part of the tick Lipocalin family: implications for the origins of tick toxicoses.

The origins of tick toxicoses remain a subject of controversy because no molecular data are yet available to study the evolution of tick-derived toxins. In this study we describe the molecular structure of toxins from the soft tick, Ornithodoros savignyi. The tick salivary gland proteins (TSGPs) are four highly abundant proteins proposed to play a role in salivary gland granule biogenesis of th...

Anti-inflammatory properties of peptides derived from the carboxy-terminal region of a defensin from the tick Ornithodoros savignyi

Structural and functional characterization of peptides derived from the carboxy-terminal region of a defensin from the tick Ornithodoros savignyi.

Tick defensins may serve as templates for the development of multifunctional peptides. The purpose of this study was to evaluate shorter peptides derived from tick defensin isoform 2 (OsDef2) in terms of their antibacterial, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activities. We compared the structural and functional properties of a synthetic peptide derived from the carboxy-terminal of the parent peptide (...

Savignygrin, a platelet aggregation inhibitor from the soft tick Ornithodoros savignyi, presents the RGD integrin recognition motif on the Kunitz-BPTI fold.

Savignygrin, a platelet aggregation inhibitor that possesses the RGD integrin recognition motif, has been purified from the soft tick Ornithodoros savignyi. Two isoforms with similar biological activities differ because of R52G and N60G in their amino acid sequences, indicating a recent gene duplication event. Platelet aggregation induced by ADP (IC50, 130 nm), collagen, the thrombin receptor-a...

A proteomics approach for the analysis of hemolymph proteins involved in the immediate defense response of the soft tick, Ornithodoros savignyi Audouin (1827), when challenged with Candida albicans

A proteomics approach was employed to identify proteins secreted into the hemolymph of O. savignyi ticks two hours after immune-challenge with the yeast, Candida albicans. Profiling of the proteins present in hemolymph of unchallenged ticks versus ticks challenged with heat-killed yeast revealed 5 proteins to be differentially expressed. The modulated protein spots were subjected to tandem mass...