Evasin

Evasins are a family of proteins which are capable of shutting off the first steps of an immune response brought about by chemokines.[1] These proteins are injected into a tick's host to prevent a painful inflammation that might otherwise alert the host to the tick's presence. As chemokines have been implicated in a number of inflammatory diseases including atherosclerosis, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer, chemokine-binding proteins such as evasins are being researched to assess their therapeutic potential as chemokine-targeting antagonists.[2]

References
  1. Gerritsen, Vivienne (November 2008). "Hidden Powers" (PDF) (99). Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. "Tick Evasins" (PDF).
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