An ELISA to Detect Serum Antibodies to the Salivary Gland Toxin of Ixodes holocyclus Neumann in Dogs and Rodents
Hall-Mendelin, S. | O'Donoghue, P. | Atwell, R. B. | Lee, R. | Hall, R. A.
The Ixodes holocyclus tick causes paralysis in up to 10,000 companion and domestic animals each year in Australia. Treatment requires the removal of the parasite and the administration of a commercial tick antiserum that is prepared from hyperimmune dogs. Each batch of this serum is initially tested for toxin-neutralising potency in a mouse bioassay that is expensive, time consuming, and subjective. With the aim of developing a rapid in vitro assay to replace the bioassay, we used a partially purified antigen prepared from I. holocyclus salivary glands to develop an ELISA to detect toxin-reactive antibodies in hyperimmune dog sera. The optimised ELISA reliably detected antibodies reactive to I. holocyclus salivary gland antigens. Parallel testing of sera with a negative control antigen prepared from the salivary glands of the nontoxic tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus provided further evidence that we were detecting toxin-specific antibodies in the assay. Using the ELISA, we could also detect antibodies induced in rats after experimental infestation with I. holocyclus . This assay shows promise as an alternative means of assessing the potency of batches of hyperimmune dog serum and to screen for toxin-reactive monoclonal antibodies produced from immunised rodents.
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