Figure 6

I. scapularis saliva decreases IL-1β secretion by macrophages during A. phagocytophilum stimulation. (A) BMDMs (1×10⁶) from C57BL/6 mice were primed with LPS (500 ng/nl) for 24 hours, washed and then stimulated with the A. phagocytophilum HZ strain (MOIs 10 and 50) for another 24 hours. IL-1β was measured by ELISA. (B) BMDMs (1×10⁶) from C57BL/6 mice were stimulated with the wild-type A. phagocytophilum HZ strain (MOI 50) for 18 hours in the presence or absence of tick saliva (1:150 dilution). IL-1β was measured by ELISA. (C) Cell death was measured using the LDH assay. Responses were measured in triplicate and presented as mean ± SEM within the representative experiment. *P < .05, Student’s t test. (−) non-stimulated cells. NS – not significant.