Academic Journal
Specificity of Phlebotomus papatasi and Phlebotomus tobbi recombinant salivary proteins developed as serological surveillance tool.
| Title: | Specificity of Phlebotomus papatasi and Phlebotomus tobbi recombinant salivary proteins developed as serological surveillance tool. |
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| Authors: | Přibylová H; Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia., Pekagirbas M; Veterinary School, Department of Parasitology, Aydin Adnan Menderes University, Aydin, Türkiye., Arserim SK; Vocational School of Health Sciences, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Türkiye., Yetismis K; Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University, Izmir, Türkiye., Berberoglu U; General Directorate of Public Health, Turkish Ministry of Health, Ankara, Türkiye., Altug U; General Directorate of Public Health, Turkish Ministry of Health, Ankara, Türkiye., Elbaz S; Ministry of Health Central Laboratories for Public Health, Jerusalem, Israel., Nachum-Biala Y; School of Veterinary Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel., Kirstein OD; Ministry of Health Central Laboratories for Public Health, Jerusalem, Israel., Baneth G; School of Veterinary Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel., Özbel Y; Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University, Izmir, Türkiye., Töz S; Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University, Izmir, Türkiye., Maia C; Global Health and Tropical Medicine (GHTM), LA-REAL, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT),, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (UNL), Lisboa, Portugal., Volf P; Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia., Kolářová I; Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia. iva.kolarova@natur.cuni.cz. |
| Source: | Parasites & vectors [Parasit Vectors] 2026 Jun 04; Vol. 19 (1). Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jun 04. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101462774 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1756-3305 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 17563305 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Parasit Vectors Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: London : BioMed Central |
| MeSH Terms: | Phlebotomus*/genetics , Phlebotomus*/immunology , Phlebotomus*/classification , Salivary Proteins and Peptides*/immunology , Salivary Proteins and Peptides*/genetics , Insect Proteins*/immunology , Insect Proteins*/genetics, Recombinant Proteins/immunology ; Recombinant Proteins/genetics ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/methods ; Insect Vectors/immunology ; Dog Diseases/parasitology ; Animals ; Dogs ; Mice ; Female ; Host Specificity ; Cross Reactions |
| Abstract: | Background: Sand flies are vectors of various pathogens, primarily Leishmania and phleboviruses. The effectiveness of disease control strategies can be assessed using serological tests that measures antibodies against sand fly saliva as a marker of host exposure and a proxy biomarker of sand fly-borne pathogens transmission. Recently, we proposed novel recombinant salivary proteins to evaluate exposure of dogs to Phlebotomus tobbi and P. papatasi. The aim of this study was to test vector and host specificity of these recombinant proteins. Methods: Recombinant salivary proteins of P. papatasi (PAP-rSP32, PAP-rSP36, and PAP-rSP42) and P. tobbi (TOB-rSP10, TOB-rSP38, TOB-rSP56, TOB-rSP60) were tested in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using sera from dogs and mice experimentally bitten by a single sand fly species as well as from naturally exposed dogs. Results: Among the three P. papatasi recombinant proteins tested, rSP36 apyrase exhibited the highest vector species-specificity. It did not cross-react with antibodies from dogs or mice experimentally bitten by P. perniciosus, P. tobbi, P. sergenti, Sergentomyia schwetzi, Lutzomyia longipalpis, or two mosquito species (Culex pipiens molestus and C. quinquefasciatus), closely followed by rSP42 yellow-related protein. In contrast, PAP-rSP32 showed host-related species specificity, cross-reacting with murine anti-P. perniciosus antibodies, but not with canine ones. Among the four P. tobbi recombinants, rSP38 yellow-related protein was the only vector subgenus-specific antigen across all the murine sera tested, followed by rSP10 apyrase and rSP60 D7-related protein, which cross-reacted with anti-P. papatasi IgG. The other D7-related protein, rSP56, lacked sand fly-specificity as it cross-reacted with antibodies against Culex saliva. Conclusions: ELISA assays based on PAP-rSP36, PAP-rSP42, and TOB-rSP38 are recommended for large-scale field studies as they exhibited the highest species-specificity. These assays can provide epidemiologically relevant data that complement other surveillance and leishmaniasis control tools. (© 2026. The Author(s).) |
| Competing Interests: | Declarations. Ethical approval and consent to participate: Canine sera were collected in Türkiye and Israel under the institutional ethical approvals received from Ege (Local Ethical Committee of Animal Experiment, 30 November 2022; no.: 2022-095) and Hebrew University (no. HU-NER-2021-063), respectively. Informed consent form was also received from dog owners or authorized veterinarian in the dog kennels. The ethical approvals for the experimental exposure of dogs to Lutzomyia longipalpis and Phlebotomus perniciosus were obtained as previously described in Hostomska et al. [27] and Vlkova et al. [28]. Murine sera were collected under the ethical approval of the Committee on the Ethics of Laboratory Experiments of Charles University, under permit no. MSMT-25062/2023-6 of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. |
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| Grant Information: | 308326 Grantová Agentura, Univerzita Karlova |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Phlebotomus papatasi; Phlebotomus tobbi; Apyrase; D7-related protein; Dog; ELISA; Mice; SP32; SP36; SP38; Serology; Specificity; Yellow-related protein |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 0 (Salivary Proteins and Peptides) 0 (Recombinant Proteins) 0 (Insect Proteins) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260605 Date Completed: 20260814 Latest Revision: 20260816 |
| Update Code: | 20260816 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13474924 |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s13071-026-07479-x |
| PMID: | 42244016 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1756-3305 |
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| DOI: | 10.1186/s13071-026-07479-x |