Favorite Tick and Why: Rhipicephalus appendiculatus – the first tick I worked with professionally and because of its historical significance in the transmission of pathogens in Africa.

Favorite Tick and Why: Rhipicephalus appendiculatus – the first tick I worked with professionally and because of its historical significance in the transmission of pathogens in Africa.

Education: BS – Suffolk University, Boston, MA
MA – University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD
PhD – Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK

Title: Associate Research Professor

Phone: 405-744-6726

Fax: 405-744-5275

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Area of Research Expertise: In vitro cultivation of tick-borne pathogens, development of pathogens, electron microscopy

Research Interests: in vitro studies at the host-pathogen interface, Anaplasma spp., Ehrlichia spp., transmission and development of rickettsiales.

Selected Publications: (Last 3-5 years)

Blouin EF, de la Fuente J, Garcia-Garcia JC, Sauer JR, Saliki JT, and Kocan KM. (2002). Applications of a cell culture system for studying the interactions of Anaplasma marginale with tick cells. Animal Health Research
Reviews, 3:57-68. .

de la Fuente J, Kocan KM, Garcia-Garcia JC, Blouin EF, Claypool PL, Saliki JT. (2002). Vaccination of cattle with Anaplasma marginale derived from tick cell culture and bovine erythrocytes followed by challenge-exposure by infected ticks. Veterinary Microbiology 89:239-251.

Kocan KM, de la Fuente J, Blouin EF and Garcia-Garcia, JC. (2002). Adaptations of the tick-borne pathogen Anaplasma marginale for survival in cattle and tick hosts. Experimental and Applied Acarology, 28: 9-25

Bowie MV, de la Fuente J, Kocan KM, Blouin EF, Barbet AF. 2002. Conservation of major surface protein 1 genes of the ehrlichial pathogen Anaplasma marginale during cyclic transmission between ticks and cattle. Gene 282(1-2):95-102.

Blouin EF, Kocan KM, de la Fuente J, Saliki JT. 2002. Effect of tetracycline on development of Anaplasma marginale in cultured Ixodes scapularis cells. Vet. Parasitol. 107:115-126.

de la Fuente J, Blouin EF, Kocan KM. (2003). Infection of ticks with the intracellular rickettsia Anaplasma marginale, excludes infection with other genotypes. Clin. Diag. Lab. Immunol. 10:182-184.

de la Fuente J, Garcia-Garcia JC, Blouin EF, Kocan KM. 2003. Characterization of the functional domain of the major surface protein 1a involved in adhesion, infection and transmission of Anaplasma marginale. Inf. Immunity 91:265-283.

Blouin EF, Saliki JT, de la Fuente J, Garcia-Garcia JC, Kocan KM. 2003. Antibodies to Anaplasma marginale major surface proteins 1a and 1b inhibit infectivity for cultured tick cells. Vet Parasitol. 111: 247-260.

Almazán C, Kocan KM, Bergman DK, Garcia-Garcia JC, Blouin EF, de la Fuente J. 2003. Identification of protective antigens for control of Ixodes scapularis infestations using cDNA expression library immunization. Vaccine. 21:1492-1501.

Kocan KM, de la Fuente J, Blouin EF, Garcia-Garcia JC. 2003. Adaptation of the tick-borne pathogen, Anaplasma marginale, for survival in cattle and tick hosts. In Proceedings, 4^th International Conference on Ticks and Tick-borne Pathogens, Experimental and Applied Acarology, 28: 9-25.

de la Fuente, J, Kocan KM, Garcia-Garcia JC, Blouin EF, Halbur T, Onet V. 2003. Immunization against Anaplasma marginale Major Surface Protein 1a reduces infectivity for ticks. J. Applied Res. In Vet. Med. 1(4): 285-292.

de la Fuente J, Garcia-Garcia JC, Barbet AF, Blouin EF, Kocan KM. 2004. Adhesion of outer membrane proteins containing tandem repeats of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae) to tick cells. Vet. Micro. 98 : 313-322.

Garcia-Garcia JC, de la Fuente J, Blouin EF, Johnson TJ, Halbur T, Onet V, Saliki JT, Kocan KM. 2004. Differential expression of the msp1α gene of Anaplasma marginale occurs in bovine erythrocytes and tick cells. Vet. Micro. 98 :261-272 .

Almazán C, Kocan KM, Bergman DK, Garcia-Garcia JC, Blouin EF, de la Fuente J. 2003. Characterization of genes transcribed in an Ixodes scapularis cell line that were identified by expression library immunization and analysis of expressed sequence tags. Gene Therapy and Molecular Biology, 7 43-59.

Almazan C, Kocan KM, Bergman DK, Garcia-Garcia JC, Blouin EF, Blas-Machado U, Yoshioka J, de la Fuente J. 2003. Methods for the identification and characterization of tick protective antigens. In Proc. of the 5th International Seminar of Animal Parasitology, Merida, Mexico. 99-104.

Garcia-Garcia JC, de la Fuente J, Kocan KM, Blouin EF, Halbur T, Onet VC, Saliki JT. 2004. Mapping of B-cell epitopes in the N-terminal repeated peptides of Anaplasma marginale major surface protein 1a and characterization of the humoral response of cattle immunized with recombinant and whole organism antigens. Vet. Immunol. and Immunopath. 98: 137-151.

Garcia-Garcia JC, de la Fuente J, Bell-Eunice G, Blouin EF, Kocan KM. 2004. Glycosylation of Anaplasma marginale Major Surface Protein 1a and its putative role in adhesion to tick cells. Infection and Immunity 72 (5) 3022-3030.

Kocan KM, de la Fuente J, Blouin EF, Garcia-Garcia JC. 2004. Anaplasma marginale (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae: Recent advances in defining host-pathogen adaptations of a tick-borne rickettsia. In Bowman A, Nuttal P, eds, Ticks, Disease and Control, Parasitology, 129: S285-S300.

Bokma B, Blouin EF, Bechara GH, eds, 2005. Impact of Ecological Changes on Tropical Animal Health and Disease Control

Blouin EF. 2005. Anaplasmosis. In McGraw-Hill Enciclopedia of Science & Technology, 10th Edition.

de la Fuente J, Ayoubi P, Blouin EF, Almazán C, Naranjo V, Kocan KM. 2005. Gene expression profiling of human promyelocytic cells in response to infection with Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Cellular Microbiology, 7: 549-559.

Almazán C, Blas-Machado U, Kocan KM, Yoshioka JH, Blouin EF, Mangold AJ, de la Fuente J. 2005. Characterization of three Ixodes scapularis cDNAs protective against tick infestations. Vaccine, 23:4403-4416.

de al Fuente J, Almazán C, Blouin EF, Naranjo V, Kocan KM. 2005. RNA intereference screening in ticks for identification of protective antigens. Parasitology Research, 96:137-141.

Kocan KM, Yoshioka J, Sonenshine DE, de la Fuente J, Ceraul SM, Blouin EF, Almazán C. 2005. A capillary tube feeding system for studying tick/pathogen interactions of Dermacentor variabilis (Acari: Ixodidae) and Anaplasma marginale (Rickettisales: Anaplasmataceae). Journal of Medical Entomology, 42:864-874.

de la Fuente, J., Lew, A., Lutz, H., Meli, M.L., Hofmann-Lehmann, R., Shkap, V., Molad, T., Mangold, A.J., Almazán, C., Naranjo, V., Gortázar, C., Torina, A., Caracappa, S., García-Pérez, A.L., Barral, M., Oporto, B., Ceci, L., Carelli, G., Blouin, E.F., Kocan, K.M. 2005. Genetic diversity of Anaplasma species major surface proteins and implications for anaplasmosis serodiagnosis and vaccine development. Animal Health Research Reviews 6:75-89.

de la Fuente J, Ayoubi P, Blouin EF, Almazán C, Naranjo V, Kocan KM. 2006. Anaplasmosis: focusing on host-vector-pathogen interactions for vaccine development. Ann. NY Academy of Sciences.1078:416-423.

Almazán C, Kocan KM, Blouin EF, de la Fuente J. 2005. Vaccination with recombinant tick antigens for the control of Ixodes scapularis adult infestations. Vaccine, 23: 5294-5298.

de la Fuente J, Almazán C, Naranjo V, Blouin EF, Kocan KM. 2006. Synergistic effect of silencing by RNA interferente the expression of tick protective angitens 4D8 and BM86 in Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Parastiology Research 99:108-113.

de la Fuente J, Almazán C, Blas-Machado U, Naranjo V, Mangold AJ, Blouin EF, Gortazar C, Kocan KM. 2006. The tick protective antigen, 4D8, is a conserved protein involved in modulation of tick feeding and reproduction. Vaccine 24:4082-4095.

Zweygarth E, Josemans AI, Spickett AM, Steyn HC, Putterill J, Troskie PC, Mtshali S. Bell-Sakyi L, Shkap V, Fish L, Kocan KM, Blouin EF. 2006. In vitro cultivation of a South African Isolate of an Anaplasma sp. in tick cell cultures. Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research 73:251-255.

de la Fuente J, Alamazán C, Naranjo V, Blouin EF, Meyer JM, Kocan KM. 2006. Autocidal control of ticks by silencing of a single gene by RNA interference. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 344:332-338.

Blouin EF and Maillard JC (eds) 2006. Impact of Emerging Zoonotic Diseases on Animal Health. Annals N.Y. Acad. Sci. Vol. 1081.

de la Fuente J, Almazán C, Blouin EF, Naranjo V, Kocan KM. 2006. Reduction of tick infections with Anaplasma marginale and A. phagocytophilum by targeting the tick protective antigen subolesin. Parasitology Research 100:85-91.

Blas-Machado U, de la Fuente J, Blouin EF, Almazán C, Kocan KM. 2007. Splenomegaly, a hallmark gross lesion of actue granulocytic anaplasmosis in C3H/HeJ Mice. Veterinary Pathology, 44:64-73.

Mtshali MS, de la Fuente J, Ruybal P, Kocan KM, Vicente J, Mbati PA, Shkap V, Blouin EF, Mohale NE, Spickett AM, Latif AA. 2007. Prevalence and genetic diversity of Anaplasma marginale strains in cattle in South Africa. Zoonoses and Public Health 54:23-30.

Kocan KM, de la Fuente J, Blouin EF. 2007. Characterization of the tick-pathogen-host interface of the tick-borne rickettsiae, Anaplasma marginale. In (Bowman & Nuttall, eds), Ticks: Biology, Diseases & Control, In press.

de la Fuente J, Kocan KM, Mangold AJ, Blouin EF, Rodriguez RD, Naranjo V, Alamazán V, Jiménez R. 2007. Biogeograpy and molecular evolution of Anaplasma species. Veterinary Parasitology, In press.

Kocan KM, de la Fuente J, Blouin EF, Coetzee JF, Ewing SA. 2007. The Natural History of Anaplasma marginale. Veterinary Parasitology, In press.

de la Fuente J, Kocan KM, Blouin. 2007. Tick vaccines and the transmission of tick-borne pathogens. Veterinary Research Communications, In press.

Kocan KM, de la Fuente J, Blouin EF. 2007. Targeting the tick/pathogen interface for developing new anaplasmosis vaccine strategies. Veterinary Research Communications, In press.

Bell-Sakyi L, Zweygarth E, Blouin EF, Gould E, Jongejan F. 2007. Tick cell lines: tools for tick and tick-borne disease research. Trends in Parasitology, In Press.

de la Fuente, J., Kocan, K.M., Almazán, C., Blouin, E.F. 2007. RNA interference for the study and genetic manipulation of ticks. Trends in Parasitology, 29 (9) 427-423.

Blouin EF, Manzano-Roman R, de la Fuente J, Kocan KM. 2007. Defining the role of subolesin in tick cell culture by use of RNA interference. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. In Press.

de la Fuente J, Manzano-Roman R, Blouin EF, Naranjo V. Kocan KM. 2007. Sp110 transcription is induced and required by Anaplasma phagocytophilum for infection of human promyelocytic cells. BMC Infectious Diseases 7:110.

Manzan0-Roman R, Almazan C, Naranjo V, Blouin EF, Kocan KM, de la Fuente J. 2007. Expression of perilipin in human promyelocytic cells in response to Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection results in modified lipid metabolism. Journal of Medical Microbiology In Press.