Ogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, based on the upregulation of Mak3k6 and negative regulators of the MAPK pathway such as dual-specificity phosphatases (DUSP). In addition to AP-1, members of the NFkB family such as Nfkbia, Ikbz, and Nfkbiz were also upregulated. NFkB target genes include many pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, including IL-1b, IL-6, and CCL2 that are upregulated in this study. G-protein signaling domain was the primary downregulated cluster related to signaling. Two groups of G-protein signaling modulators were represented: regulators of G-protein signaling (RGS) and G-protein coupled receptor kinases (GRK). Both of these groups act to dampen GPCR activity. RGS molecules accomplish this by enhancing the MedChemExpress EED226 intrinsic GTPase activity of activated Ga subunits [23] while GRK proteins phosphorylate the active GPCR, making it a high-affinity target for arrestin binding which blocks G-protein binding and activation [24]. Thus the downregulation of these molecules may potentiate GPCR signaling at the tick bite site.Results and Discussion Microarray Analysis of Host Immune Responses to Early Tick FeedingThe immune response at the tick-host interface was investigated at 1, 3, 6 and 12 hours post nymphal tick infestation (hpi) using microarrays. Significantly modulated genes increased across time (Figure 1a), reflecting the development of host responses as the infestation progressed. A higher percentage of modulated genes were shared with adjacent than distant time points (Figure 1b). The specific gene expression profiles were similar between 1 and 3 hours, but showed appreciable change between 3 and 6 hours, and again between 6 and 12 hours post-infestation (Figure 1c). These results suggest cutaneous responses undergo rapid changes in gene expression profiles in the early stages of tick feeding. Significantly modulated genes were divided into up and downregulated lists at each time point and EED226 custom synthesis submitted to the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) bioinformatics database. The functional annotationclustering tool was used to group similar terms together. These clusters were then named according to the gene ontology terms in each cluster (Table 2). At 1 and 3 hrs post-infestation, the only significantly up-regulated 
cluster was “post-translational modification: ubiquitin, isopeptide;” no significantly downregulated clusters were observed. Changes in gene expression at 1 and 3 hrs post-infestation were related to signaling pathways such as NFkB and cation homeostatsis, suggesting pro-inflammatory pathways are already activated. At 6 hrs post-infestation, clusters related to cytoskeletal elements, keratinocyte migration, cell signaling, transcription, and immune responses were prominent. At 12 hrs post-infestation, cell cycle, cytoskeletal elements, and immune response clusters were observed. 1326631 Immune response clusters differed between 6 and 12 hrs post-infestation. At 6 hrs, anti-microbial responses, immunoreceptor signaling, and negative regulation of myeloid differentiation were significant, while at 12 hrs, inflammation and chemotaxis were significant. These results suggest a rapid, pro-inflammatory evolution of the early host response beginning soon after attachment that progress from early inflammatory signaling and pre-programmed anti-microbial responses to the infiltration of innate immune cells by 12 hpi.Immune ResponseA number of clusters in the gene ontology analysis at 6.Ogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, based on the upregulation of Mak3k6 and negative regulators of the MAPK pathway such as dual-specificity phosphatases (DUSP). In addition to AP-1, members of the NFkB family such as Nfkbia, Ikbz, and Nfkbiz were also upregulated. NFkB target genes include many pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, including IL-1b, IL-6, and CCL2 that are upregulated in this study. G-protein signaling domain was the primary downregulated cluster related to signaling. Two groups of G-protein signaling modulators were represented: regulators of G-protein signaling (RGS) and G-protein coupled receptor kinases (GRK). Both of these groups act to dampen GPCR activity. RGS molecules accomplish this by enhancing the intrinsic GTPase activity of activated Ga subunits [23] while GRK proteins phosphorylate the active GPCR, making it a high-affinity target for arrestin binding which blocks G-protein binding and activation [24]. Thus the downregulation of these molecules may potentiate GPCR signaling at the tick bite site.Results and Discussion Microarray Analysis of Host Immune Responses to Early Tick FeedingThe immune response at the tick-host interface was investigated at 1, 3, 6 and 12 hours post nymphal tick infestation (hpi) using microarrays. Significantly modulated genes increased across time (Figure 1a), reflecting the development of host responses as the infestation progressed. A higher percentage of modulated genes were shared with adjacent than distant time points (Figure 1b). The specific gene expression profiles were similar between 1 and 3 hours, but showed appreciable change between 3 and 6 hours, and again between 6 and 12 hours post-infestation (Figure 1c). These results suggest cutaneous responses undergo rapid changes in gene expression profiles in the early stages of tick feeding. Significantly modulated genes were divided into up and downregulated lists at each time point and submitted to the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) bioinformatics database. The functional annotationclustering tool was used to group similar terms together. These clusters were then named according to the gene ontology terms in each cluster (Table 2). At 1 and 3 hrs post-infestation, the only significantly up-regulated cluster was “post-translational modification: ubiquitin, isopeptide;” no significantly downregulated clusters were observed. Changes in gene expression at 1 and 3 hrs post-infestation were related to signaling pathways such as NFkB and cation homeostatsis, suggesting pro-inflammatory 
pathways are already activated. At 6 hrs post-infestation, clusters related to cytoskeletal elements, keratinocyte migration, cell signaling, transcription, and immune responses were prominent. At 12 hrs post-infestation, cell cycle, cytoskeletal elements, and immune response clusters were observed. 1326631 Immune response clusters differed between 6 and 12 hrs post-infestation. At 6 hrs, anti-microbial responses, immunoreceptor signaling, and negative regulation of myeloid differentiation were significant, while at 12 hrs, inflammation and chemotaxis were significant. These results suggest a rapid, pro-inflammatory evolution of the early host response beginning soon after attachment that progress from early inflammatory signaling and pre-programmed anti-microbial responses to the infiltration of innate immune cells by 12 hpi.Immune ResponseA number of clusters in the gene ontology analysis at 6.