Abstract. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter at the neuroeffector junction regulating fluid secretion via an increase in cAMP in the salivary glands of ixodid ticks. Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) is the chloride channel that mediates cAMP-dependent chloride secretion in various epithelia of higher animals. Chloride is the major anion in the saliva of ixodid ticks. Preliminary results indicate the existence of a cDNA gene fragment having high similarity to CFTR in the salivary glands of the lone star tick. The sulfonyurea compounds glibenclamide and tolbutamide, known inhibitors of CFTR in other epithelia, potently inhibit fluid secretion in salivary glands of the lone star tick.
Species 1: Acari Ixodidae Ambylomma americanum (ixodid tick)
Keywords: Amblyomma americanum, (L.), tick salivary gland secretion
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA