Xueqing Xu

Immunomodulatory Amacstatins facilitate feeding and Rickettsia parkeri transmission by Amblyomma maculatum ticks

Ticks rely on salivary immunomodulators to sustain prolonged blood feeding and transmit pathogens, yet the protein effectors that mediate these processes remain incompletely defined. Here, we characterize three divergent cysteine protease inhibitors—Amacstatins—from the Gulf Coas...