OXFORD, UNITED KINGDOM — A new study conducted by the University of Oxford shows a protein found in tick saliva could be used to treat myocarditis, a potentially fatal heart disease.

Myocarditis is a disease that causes inflammation and damage of the heart muscle, and typically affects young adults.

When the heart becomes infected with a common virus, it releases chemicals called chemokines, which attract cells that cause inflammation. The heart muscle becomes dangerously inflamed and patients would need heart transplants in severe cases.

Tick saliva can contain up to 3,000 proteins — known as evasins — depending on their species. Evasins allow them to feed on blood without causing inflammation, thus making their bites almost unnoticeable.

Researchers at the University of Oxford have identified one particular evasin, P991_AMBCA from cayenne ticks, which could bind to and neutralize chemokines to prevent inflammation, thus potentially preventing myocarditis disease.

“Myocarditis is a devastating disease, for which there are currently very few treatments. With this latest research, we hope to be able to take inspiration from the tick’s anti-inflammatory strategy and design a life-saving therapy for this dangerous heart condition. We may also be able to use the same drugs to treat other diseases where inflammation plays a big part, such as heart attack, stroke, pancreatitis, and arthritis,” Professor Shoumo Bhattacharya, the study’s lead author and Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Oxford said in a press release.

The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, was published in the journal Scientific Reports.