Humoral immune response of dogs immunized with salivary gland, midgut, or repeated infestations with Rhipicephalus sanguineus.

The antibody (Ab) responses of dogs immunized with adult tick salivary gland (TSG), midgut (TMG), or repeated infestations of Rhipicephalus sanguineus were monitored to determine if there is an association between Ab production and R. sanguineus performance. Tick-naïve dogs were immunized with TSG or TMG and subjected to two challenge infestations. The control group was infested five times at 21-day intervals. The ELISA technique was used to measure Ab levels in sera from these dogs, which expressed different forms of resistance against R. sanguineus. In dogs immunized with TSG or TMG, similar Ab levels were detected against TMG, TSG, muscle, synganglion, and reproductive organs. However, these sera had different Ab levels against egg mass, unfed larvae, fed larvae, and nymph antigens. Ab levels to muscle, nerve, and reproductive antigens were lower than those observed when TMG or TSG antigens were used. Sera from dogs immunized with TMG or TSG responded to most tick stages or tissue antigens, whereas repeated infestation sera showed the lowest response among the three groups.