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Elimination of Babesia microti Is Dependent on Intraerythrocytic Killing and CD4+ T Cells.

ABSTRACT: Babesiosis is a tick-borne zoonosis caused by protozoans of the genus Babesia, apicomplexan parasites that replicate within erythrocytes. However, unlike related Plasmodium species, the pathogenesis of Babesia infection remains poorly understood. The primary etiological agent of babesiosis in the United States is B. microti. In healthy individuals, tick-transmitted infection with Babesia causes no specific clinical manifestations, with many having no symptoms at all. However, even in asymptomatic people, a Babesia carriage state can be established that can last up to a year or more. Current blood bank screening methods do not identify infected donors, and Babesia parasites survive blood-banking procedures and storage. Thus, Babesia can also be transmitted by infected blood, and it is currently the number one cause of reportable transfusion-transmitted infection in the United States. Despite a significant impact on human health, B. microti remains understudied. In this study, we evaluated the course of Babesia infection in three strains of mice, C57BL/6J, BALB/cJ, and C3H-HeJ, and examined the contribution of multiple immune parameters, including TLRs, B cells, CD4+ cells, IFN-?, and NO, on the level of parasitemia and parasite clearance during acute babesiosis. We found that B. microti reaches high parasitemia levels during the first week of infection in all three mice strains before resolving spontaneously. Our results indicate that resolution of babesiosis requires CD4 T cells and a novel mechanism of parasite killing within infected erythrocytes.

SUBMITTER: Skariah S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5557026 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Elimination of Babesia microti Is Dependent on Intraerythrocytic Killing and CD4+ T Cells.

Skariah Sini S Arnaboldi Paul P Dattwyler Raymond J RJ Sultan Ali A AA Gaylets Corey C Walwyn Odaelys O Mulhall Hannah H Wu Xia X Dargham Soha R SR Mordue Dana G DG

Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) 20170612 2

Babesiosis is a tick-borne zoonosis caused by protozoans of the genus Babesia, apicomplexan parasites that replicate within erythrocytes. However, unlike related Plasmodium species, the pathogenesis of Babesia infection remains poorly understood. The primary etiological agent of babesiosis in the United States is B. microti. In healthy individuals, tick-transmitted infection with Babesia causes no specific clinical manifestations, with many having no symptoms a ...[more]

PMID: 28607116

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Project description:BackgroundThe Babesia microti-like parasite is an emerging tick-borne piroplasm that has been detected in a range of hosts worldwide. Babesia vulpes, which is found in dogs and foxes, has been reclassified from B. microti-like parasites. The relationships among these B. microti-like parasites and B. vulpes with respect to host range and geographical origin have not been elucidated.MethodsBlood samples were collected from 27 raccoon dogs in South Korea and used to screen for B. microti-like parasites based on a PCR assay targeting the 18S rRNA gene of Babesia. For comparative purposes, in addition to 18S rRNA sequences from nine raccoon dogs, we also analyzed 18S rRNA sequences from B. microti-like parasites infecting hosts in different geographical regions worldwide obtained from the GenBank database, giving 123 sequences in total. The genetic variation and evolutionary relationships among these sequences were examined based on analyses using DnaSP, MEGA, Arlequine, and BEAST software.ResultsBabesia microti-like parasites were identified in nine raccoon dogs and found to be related to B. vulpes obtained from Spanish dogs. Among the 123 sequences from 14 countries and various hosts, we identified 43 haplotypes with high genetic variance. Based on the genetic variance and phylogenetic analyses, we established that the B. microti-like parasites isolated in different geographical regions and from hosts belonging to five orders showed higher among-population variation than within-population variation. Babesia vulpes parasites infecting carnivore hosts, including raccoon dogs, foxes, skunks and dogs, appear to be genetically distinct from B. microti-like parasites infecting hosts belonging to the other orders.ConclusionsOur study demonstrated the genetic variation and evolutionary relationships among 18S rRNA sequences obtained from blood samples collected from various hosts and different geographical regions. Babesia vulpes was identified from raccoon dogs in South Korea. In addition, higher genetic variations were observed among populations of different hosts and geographical origins and, in particular, low connectivity was observed among host populations in the order Carnivora and those in other orders. These results suggest the B. vulpes, a piroplasmid species pathogenic in domestic dogs and wild canines, is genetically and evolutionarily different from B. microti-like parasites.

Dataset Information

Elimination of Babesia microti Is Dependent on Intraerythrocytic Killing and CD4+ T Cells.

Publications

Elimination of <i>Babesia microti</i> Is Dependent on Intraerythrocytic Killing and CD4<sup>+</sup> T Cells.

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