Poster presented in Jornadas Vigilancia Sanitaria 2023: presente y futuro para 2030

July 6^th, 2023

de la Fuente J., Mazuecos L. and Contreras M.

Ticks and tick-borne diseases constitute a major threat for human and animal health worldwide. Vaccines for the control of tick infestations and transmitted pathogens still represents a challenge for science and health. These challenges include (1) ticks are difficult to control, (2) vaccine efficacy against multiple tick species, (3) impact of tick genetic diversity on vaccine efficacy, (4) antigen combination to improve vaccine efficacy, (5) vaccine formulation, (6) vaccine production and administration, and (7) innovative control interventions for ticks and pathogens. Vaccines have evolved with antigens derived from inactivated pathogens and internal organ extracts to recombinant proteins and vaccinomics approaches. Recently, vaccines for the control of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV 2) have shown the efficacy of new antigen delivery platforms. However, until now only two vaccines based on recombinant Bm86/Bm95 antigens have been registered and commercialized for the control of cattle-tick infestations. Nevertheless, recently new technologies and approaches such as quantum vaccinomics are under consideration for vaccine development for the control of ticks and tick-borne pathogens. Genetic manipulation of tick commensal bacteria converted enemies into friends, and Frankenbacteriosis was used to control tick pathogen infection. Based on vaccinology and other biotechnological platforms and algorithms, future research directions targeting ticks and tick-borne pathogens should be based on “personalized medicine” region-host-tick/pathogen genotype targeted approaches. These directions include (a) identification of new tick and pathogen derived protective antigens, (b) quantum vaccinomics for designing chimeric antigens with protective epitopes, (c) combination of vaccines with probiotics (e.g., with high alpha-gal content) and other adjuvants/immunostimulants, (d) new vaccine delivery platforms (e.g., nanoparticles (NP), lipid NP-mRNA, viral vectors) to stimulate trained immunity and boost protective immune response, (e) paratransgenesis to genetically modify commensal tick gut microbiota, and (f) development of oral vaccine delivery formulations and modification of commensal bacteria to produce and secrete protective antigens. Probiotics based on host-derived microbiota may be used to boost immunity against both vectors and transmitted pathogens. Additionally, host-derived commensal bacteria, even if not positive for natural host immune response, could be used for vaccine oral delivery of membrane-exposed combined tick and pathogen protective antigens, chimeric antigens with protective epitopes and/or immunity boosting post-translational modifications such as glycan alpha-Gal. To address safety issues, these vaccines could be delivered either using live or heat-inactivated bacteria

	Sanidad y Biotecnología (SaBio). Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC). Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC). Universidad de Castilla La Mancha (UCLM). Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha (JCCM).
	Departament of Veterinary Pathobiology. Center for Veterinary Health Sciences (CVHS). Oklahoma State University (OSU).