Study: Insect saliva may be a new treatment for infections

A team of researchers in Australia has found that some proteins in the saliva of ticks can be modified so that they are used to inactivate some organic substances that lead to inflammatory diseases such as asthma, arthritis and multiple sclerosis, according to the German news agency.

The study, which was conducted at the Biomedical Research Institute of Monash University in Australia and published in the scientific journal "National Academy of Science", showed that it is possible to modify some properties of proteins secreted in the saliva of ticks, so that they fuse with a specific type of human proteins called "chemokines". To help prevent infections.

The study team confirmed that this scientific discovery opens the door wide to the development of more successful medical methods for treating inflammatory diseases.

Some inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis, asthma and multiple sclerosis are linked to a specific phenomenon that occurs inside the human body when white blood cells attack some tissues of the body, knowing that the “chemokines” proteins secreted within the affected tissues are what attract white blood cells to attack those tissues or organs.

The researchers say that by targeting these proteins, the process of attracting white blood cells and the consequent damage to human tissue can be prevented.

And the website "Medical Express" that specializes in medical research quoted Martin Stone, one of the researchers involved in the study, as saying, "We have reached a scientific basis for controlling the formation of some proteins secreted in the tick's saliva, and we found that it is possible to modify these proteins so that they gain the ability to to selectively bind to human proteins.

The research team believes that this study is extremely important because it is the first of its kind that targets the chemokines protein system inside the human body as a way to treat infections. However, they stressed the need to conduct more research to ensure that this treatment has no side effects.

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