From seminal publications in the early 1970s, the world learned that dendritic cells (DCs) are powerful and versatile antigen-presenting cells. It took a few years until the first studies expanded our understanding of the pivotal role of these immune ‘soldiers’ against ticks. Advances in biochemistry, molecular biology, and bioinformatics have shed light on the identification of key salivary molecules that modulate the biology of DCs in favor of tick parasitism. Here, we present a critical overview of the discoveries accumulated on the tick–host battlefield from a DC perspective. Moreover, the clinical significance of DC-targeted tick salivary components is discussed, not only as facilitators of the transmission of tick-borne pathogens or vaccine candidates, but also as potential immunobiologics to treat immune-mediated diseases.

从 1970 年代初期的开创性出版物中，全世界都了解到树突状细胞 (DC) 是功能强大且用途广泛的抗原呈递细胞。几年后，第一批研究扩大了我们对这些免疫“士兵”对蜱虫的关键作用的理解。生物化学、分子生物学和生物信息学的进展阐明了调节 DC 生物学以支持蜱寄生的关键唾液分子的鉴定。在这里，我们从 DC 的角度对在蜱宿主战场上积累的发现进行了批判性的概述。此外，还讨论了 DC 靶向蜱唾液成分的临床意义，不仅作为蜱传病原体或候选疫苗传播的促进剂，而且作为治疗免疫介导疾病的潜在免疫生物学。