Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Anaplasma marginale Elicit Different Gene Expression Responses in Cultured Tick Cells
Figure 4
Comparison between differential gene expression in A. phagocytophilum- and A. marginale-infected tick ISE6 cells at different time points after infection. Studies were done on A. phagocytophilum- (A.p.-) and A. marginale- (A.m.-) infected tick ISE6 cells (two independent cultures each) at 2, 5, and 8 days postinfection (dpi) with approximately 30%–40%, 60%–70%, and >90% infected cells, respectively. (a) The A.p. and A.m. infection levels were evaluated by real-time PCR of msp4 and normalized against tick 16S rDNA. Known amounts of the full length A.p. and A.m. msp4 PCR product were used to construct a standard curve for quantitation of pathogens per cell. Data represent average SD. (b) The mRNA levels of selected genes were evaluated by real-time RT-PCR and normalized against tick 16S rRNA. Bars represent the ratio between average Ct values in A.p.-infected cells/average Ct values in A.m.-infected cells. The mRNA levels were compared between A.p.- and A.m.-infected tick cells by Student’s -test (*). Identical mRNA levels in A. phagocytophilum and A. marginale infected cells equal one.
