A systems biology approach to better understand human tick-borne diseases

Wenna Lee; Amanda D Barbosa; Peter J Irwin; Andrew Currie; Tobias R Kollmann; Miles Beaman; Amy H Lee; Charlotte L Oskam

doi:10.1016/j.pt.2022.10.006

A systems biology approach to better understand human tick-borne diseases

Trends Parasitol. 2023 Jan;39(1):53-69. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2022.10.006. Epub 2022 Nov 16.

Authors

Wenna Lee¹, Amanda D Barbosa², Peter J Irwin³, Andrew Currie⁴, Tobias R Kollmann⁵, Miles Beaman⁶, Amy H Lee⁷, Charlotte L Oskam⁸

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Biosecurity and One Health, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Perth, WA, Australia; Systems Vaccinology, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, WA, Australia.
² Centre for Biosecurity and One Health, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Perth, WA, Australia; CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil, Brasilia-DF, Brazil.
³ Centre for Biosecurity and One Health, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Perth, WA, Australia.
⁴ Centre for Molecular Medicine & Innovative Therapeutics, Health Futures Institute, Murdoch University, Perth, WA, Australia; Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, WA, Australia.
⁵ Systems Vaccinology, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, WA, Australia.
⁶ Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
⁷ Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada.
⁸ Centre for Biosecurity and One Health, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Perth, WA, Australia. Electronic address: C.Oskam@murdoch.edu.au.

PMID: 36400674
DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2022.10.006

Abstract

Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are a growing global health concern. Despite extensive studies, ill-defined tick-associated pathologies remain with unknown aetiologies. Human immunological responses after tick bite, and inter-individual variations of immune-response phenotypes, are not well characterised. Current reductive experimental methodologies limit our understanding of more complex tick-associated illness, which results from the interactions between the host, tick, and microbes. An unbiased, systems-level integration of clinical metadata and biological host data - obtained via transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics - offers to drive the data-informed generation of testable hypotheses in TBDs. Advanced computational tools have rendered meaningful analysis of such large data sets feasible. This review highlights the advantages of integrative system biology approaches as essential for understanding the complex pathobiology of TBDs.

Keywords: emerging diseases; multi-dimensional; network biology; systems biology; tick-borne diseases; tick–host–pathogen.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Global Health
Humans
Metabolomics
Systems Biology
Tick-Borne Diseases*
Ticks* / genetics