Immunohistochemical Assays to Visualize Tick-Borne Flaviviruses at the Tick Feeding Site

Rodrigo I Santos; Meghan E Hermance

doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-4587-1_9

Immunohistochemical Assays to Visualize Tick-Borne Flaviviruses at the Tick Feeding Site

Methods Mol Biol. 2025:2936:71-84. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4587-1_9.

Authors

Rodrigo I Santos¹, Meghan E Hermance²

Affiliations

¹ Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine, Campbell University, Buies Creek, NC, USA.
² Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA. mhermance@southalabama.edu.

PMID: 40512311
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4587-1_9

Abstract

Traditional immunohistochemistry (IHC) involves chromogenic detection of target antigens by antibodies that are conjugated to enzymes. Such immunostaining of thin tissue sections enables visualization of the distribution and localization of target antigens within their proper histological context. In this chapter, we describe how tick-borne flaviviruses can be visualized at the tick feeding site via IHC. We use antibodies specific to the North American tick-borne flavivirus, Powassan virus (POWV), to demonstrate how viral antigen can be visualized in the skin of a vertebrate host that is fed upon by an infected tick.

Keywords: Immunohistochemistry; Skin biopsy; Tick-borne flavivirus; Tick–host cutaneous interface.

MeSH terms

Animals
Antigens, Viral / immunology
Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne* / immunology
Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne* / isolation & purification
Flavivirus*
Immunohistochemistry* / methods
Skin / virology
Ticks* / virology

Substances

Antigens, Viral