The study of exposure times and dose-escalation of tick saliva on mouse embryonic stem cell proliferation

Abstract

The saliva of ticks contains numerous bioactive molecules with anti-hemostatic and immunomodulatory properties. Due to their abilities of self-renewal and pluripotency, stem cells hold considerable promise in the regenerative medicine and biomedical fields. The present study examines the viability and proliferation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) following the addition of tick salivary gland extracts obtained from three tick species (Dermacentor marginatus, Rhipicephalus bursa and Hyalomma marginatum) to the mESC medium in different quantities (0.2, 2, 20, 40, 80, and 160 µg/ml). On days 2, 5 and 7 of the treatment, the vitality and proliferation of the cells were determined with CellTiter-Glo and morphological tests. The results showed that the culture supplemented with D. marginatus salivary gland extract at a concentration of 80 µg/ml positively affected the proliferation rate of mESC. It was further shown that all concentrations of the salivary gland extracts derived from H. marginatum and R. bursa had a negative effect on the proliferation rate of mESC when compared to the controls.