Circulating microRNA profiles associated with tick bite and debilitating symptom complexes attributed to ticks (DSCATT)

Ryan J Farr; Carlos H M Rodrigues; Siobhon Egan; Jenny Su; Amanda D Barbosa; Michelle Long; Jill Austen; Wenna Lee; Alexander W Gofton; Andrew Ratchford; Brian Burns; Miles Beaman; Allen C Cheng; Helen M Faddy; Justine O'Donovan; Roy Hall; Marjorie Collins; Una M Ryan; John Stenos; Stephen Graves; Charlotte L Oskam; Peter J Irwin; Cameron R Stewart

doi:10.1038/s41598-026-59906-9

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Circulating microRNA profiles associated with tick bite and debilitating symptom complexes attributed to ticks (DSCATT)

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Circulating microRNA profiles associated with tick bite and debilitating symptom complexes attributed to ticks (DSCATT)

Ryan J Farr, Carlos H M Rodrigues, Siobhon Egan, Jenny Su, Amanda D Barbosa, Michelle Long, Jill Austen, Wenna Lee, Alexander W Gofton, Andrew Ratchford, …

Scientific Reports, Vol.Advanced access

30-Jun-2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-59906-9

PMID: 42373724

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Abstract

biomarkers

computational biology and bioinformatics

diseases

immunology

Tick bites in Australia are associated with a poorly understood syndrome known as Debilitating Symptom Complexes Attributed to Ticks (DSCATT), however, the underlying biological mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we investigate host responses to tick bite and DSCATT by profiling circulating host-encoded microRNAs (miRNAs), key regulators of gene expression. Circulating miRNAs were profiled in two cohorts: a longitudinal cohort followed from tick bite for up to 12 months, and a retrospective cohort with DSCATT. Differential expression analysis revealed that tick bite induces widespread changes in circulating miRNAs, with 149 miRNAs showing significant variation over 12 months. Temporal clustering revealed two expression patterns: one oscillating trajectory and a declining then stabilising, with predicted targets enriched for pathways related to immune modulation, tissue remodelling and cellular stress responses. DSCATT patients exhibited 98 differentially expressed miRNAs, including significant overlap with acute tick bite miRNAs, and four miRNAs correlated with symptom severity, including fatigue and dizziness. Machine learning analysis identified a five-miRNA signature that classified acute tick bite with 86% accuracy and receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (ROC AUC) of 0.92. These findings represent, to the best of our knowledge, the first characterisation of host miRNA responses to tick bite and DSCATT, highlighting potential biomarkers and mechanisms underlying chronic symptom development.

Details

Title: Circulating microRNA profiles associated with tick bite and debilitating symptom complexes attributed to ticks (DSCATT)
Authors: Ryan J Farr - Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness
Carlos H M Rodrigues - Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness
Siobhon Egan - Murdoch University
Jenny Su - Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness
Amanda D Barbosa - Murdoch University
Michelle Long - Geelong Hospital
Jill Austen - Murdoch University
Wenna Lee - The Kids Research Institute Australia
Alexander W Gofton - CSIRO Health and Biosecurity
Andrew Ratchford - Macquarie University
Brian Burns - The University of Sydney
Miles Beaman - The University of Western Australia
Allen C Cheng - Monash University
Helen M Faddy - University of the Sunshine Coast
Justine O'Donovan - Australian Red Cross Lifeblood
Roy Hall - The University of Queensland
Marjorie Collins
Una M Ryan - Murdoch University
John Stenos - Geelong Hospital
Stephen Graves - Geelong Hospital
Charlotte L Oskam - Murdoch University
Peter J Irwin - Murdoch University
Cameron R Stewart (Corresponding Author) - Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness
Publication details: Scientific Reports, Vol.Advanced access
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-59906-9
ISSN: 2045-2322
PMID: 42373724
Copyright note: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Data Availability: The sequencing data presented in this study are deposited in NCBI SRA under BioProject accession PRJNA1440050. All other relevant information for this study are found as supplementary material.
Grant note: This study was supported by funding from the Australian Federal Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing awarded to C.R.S. and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funding awarded to P.J.I.
Organisation Unit: School of Health - Biomedicine
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991242394002621
Output Type: Journal article

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