MAPK8 and infection: Finally, building on our previous findings demonstrating that blood-feeding and infection alter the expression of hemocytin in ticks (Fig. 4c, Supplementary Data 9), coupled with the documented roles of hemocytin as an agglutinating factor and the JNK pathway in enhancing organismal growth and metabolism in insects47, we delved deeper into the relationship between hemocytin expression and physiological parameters in I. scapularis.