Flea membrane binding site proteins as screening tools

摘要

The cellular binding proteins present in membranes of fleas, especially those which are present in the digestive tract, are useful as screening tools for systemic anti-flea reagents and in the design of vaccine formulations. Particularly useful is the alpha -subunit of (Na+/K+)ATPase. The alpha -subunit of this protein expressed in recombinant host cells in the presence of the beta -subunit is distributed on the membrane and the recombinant cells can thus be used to screen candidates for ability to bind the cells. Secondary screens are used to determine the specificity of the candidate reagent for flea protein as compared to a corresponding protein derived from other sources.