Group has been working with parasitologists to identify some of the novel immunosuppressive substances in the saliva, particularly those that suppress lymphocytes
Scientists at the University of Aberdeen have been using the BD Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) assay from BD Biosciences to determine if immunomodulators in deer tick saliva could one day be used to treat autoimmune diseases.
Janet Liversidge, lecturer in immunology at the Department of Ophthalmology, explained: "To stay in place without being noticed, ticks suppress the immune system of their hosts by injecting saliva into the bite area.
Our group has been working with parasitologists to identify some of the novel immunosuppressive substances in the saliva, particularly those that suppress lymphocytes, with a view to developing novel immunomodulators for immune disease." Janet continued: "Until recently, we were only able to analyse one or two cytokines because of the small amount of sample collected, but with the BD CBA assay, we can now analyse six cytokines from a single test.
In addition, the quality of the data has improved and we have economised greatly on time and materials." Janet concluded: "We have a very good relationship with BD Biosciences.
The application specialists keep us up-to-date with new developments in the field and technical support is always at the end of the phone when we need it.
These personnel have extensive experience in research so you can have quite a sensible conversation with them!"
