From Local to Systemic: The Journey of Tick Bite Biomarkers in Australian Patients

Tick bites and tick-related diseases are on the rise. Diagnostic tests that identify well-characterised tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) possess limited capacity to address the causation of symptoms associated with poorly characterised tick-related illnesses, such as debilitating symptom complexes attributed to ticks (DSCATT) in Australia. Identification of local signals in tick-bitten skin that can be detected systemically in blood would have both clinical (diagnostic or prognostic) and research (mechanistic insight) utility, as a blood sample is more readily obtainable than tissue biopsies.

Citation:
Lee W, Barbosa AD, Lee AHY, …….. Martino D, Stenos J, …….. Kresoje N, Skut P, Irwin PJ, …….. Kollmann TR, Oskam CL. From Local to Systemic: The Journey of Tick Bite Biomarkers in Australian Patients. Int J Mol Sci. 2025;26(4).

Keywords:
MULTI-OMICS; emerging diseases; systems biology; tick-borne diseases

Abstract:
Tick bites and tick-related diseases are on the rise. Diagnostic tests that identify well-characterised tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) possess limited capacity to address the causation of symptoms associated with poorly characterised tick-related illnesses, such as debilitating symptom complexes attributed to ticks (DSCATT) in Australia. Identification of local signals in tick-bitten skin that can be detected systemically in blood would have both clinical (diagnostic or prognostic) and research (mechanistic insight) utility, as a blood sample is more readily obtainable than tissue biopsies.