Protective immunity and mast cell and eosinophil responses in mice infested with larval Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
WBB6F1 ‐+‐ /+ mice were infested with larval Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks twice at an interval of 14 days: apparent resistance against ticks was expressed in the second infestation. The first infestation induced degranula‐tion of a small number of mast cells at the feeding sites within 6 days, and resulted in two‐fold increases of mast cell numbers on day 14 with a significant elevation of total immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels in sera and high proportion of IgE‐bound mast cells. The second infestation resulted in the intensive degranulation of the increased mast cells at the feeding sites. Eosinophils infiltrated into the feeding sites of ticks: the second infestation led to a greater maximal level of the infiltrating eosinophils. These data suggest that the resistance against larval H. longicornis ticks in mice may be expressed as a result of immediate hypersensitivity and many eosinophils infiltrating from the blood to the feeding sites might contribute to the tick rejection.