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Major Surface Antigens in Zoonotic Babesia.

ABSTRACT: Human babesiosis results from a combination of tick tropism for humans, susceptibility of a host to sustain Babesia development, and contact with infected ticks. Climate modifications and increasing diagnostics have led to an expanded number of Babesia species responsible for human babesiosis, although, to date, most cases have been attributed to B. microti and B. divergens. These two species have been extensively studied, and in this review, we mostly focus on the antigens involved in host-parasite interactions. We present features of the major antigens, so-called Bd37 in B. divergens and BmSA1/GPI12 in B. microti, and highlight the roles of these antigens in both host cell invasion and immune response. A comparison of these antigens with the major antigens found in some other Apicomplexa species emphasizes the importance of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins in host-parasite relationships. GPI-anchor cleavage, which is a property of such antigens, leads to soluble and membrane-bound forms of these proteins, with potentially differential recognition by the host immune system. This mechanism is discussed as the structural basis for the protein-embedded immune escape mechanism. In conclusion, the potential consequences of such a mechanism on the management of both human and animal babesiosis is examined.

SUBMITTER: Delbecq S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8780968 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Babesiosis is a parasitic vector-borne disease of increasing public health importance. Since the first human case was reported in 1957, zoonotic species have been reported on nearly every continent. Zoonotic Babesia is vectored by Ixodes ticks and is commonly transmitted in North America by Ixodes scapularis, the tick species responsible for transmitting the pathogens that also cause Lyme disease, Powassan virus, and anaplasmosis in humans. Predicted climate change is expected to impact the spread of vectors, which is likely to affect the distribution of vector-borne diseases including human babesiosis. METHODS:A scoping review has been executed to characterize the global evidence on zoonotic babesiosis. Articles were compiled through a comprehensive search of relevant bibliographic databases and targeted government websites. Two reviewers screened titles and abstracts for relevance and characterized full-text articles using a relevance screening and data characterization tool developed a priori. RESULTS:This review included 1394 articles relevant to human babesiosis and/or zoonotic Babesia species. The main zoonotic species were B. microti, B. divergens, B. duncani and B. venatorum. Articles described a variety of study designs used to study babesiosis in humans and/or zoonotic Babesia species in vectors, animal hosts, and in vitro cell cultures. Topics of study included: pathogenesis (680 articles), epidemiology (480), parasite characterization (243), diagnostic test accuracy (98), mitigation (94), treatment (65), transmission (54), surveillance (29), economic analysis (7), and societal knowledge (1). No articles reported predictive models investigating the impact of climate change on Babesia species. CONCLUSION:Knowledge gaps in the current evidence include research on the economic burden associated with babesiosis, societal knowledge studies, surveillance of Babesia species in vectors and animal hosts, and predictive models on the impact of climate change. The scoping review results describe the current knowledge and knowledge gaps on zoonotic Babesia which can be used to inform future policy and decision making.

Project description:Babesiosis (formerly known as piroplasmosis) is a tick-borne disease caused by the intraerythrocytic development of protozoa parasites from the genus Babesia. Like Plasmodium falciparum, the agent of malaria, or Toxoplasma gondii, responsible for human toxoplasmosis, Babesia belongs to the Apicomplexa family. Babesia canis is the agent of the canine babesiosis in Europe. Clinical manifestations of this disease range from mild to severe and possibly lead to death by multiple organ failure. The identification and characterization of parasite surface proteins represent major goals, both for the understanding of the Apicomplexa invasion process and for the vaccine potential of such antigens. Indeed, we have already shown that Bd37, the major antigenic adhesion protein from Babesia divergens, the agent of bovine babesiosis, was able to induce complete protection against various parasite strains. The major merozoite surface antigens of Babesia canis have been described as a 28-kDa membrane protein family, anchored at the surface of the merozoite. Here, we demonstrate that Bc28.1, a major member of this multigenic family, is expressed at high levels at the surface of the merozoite. This protein is also found in the parasite in vitro culture supernatants, which are the basis of effective vaccines against canine babesiosis. We defined the erythrocyte binding function of Bc28.1 and determined its high resolution solution structure using NMR spectroscopy. Surprisingly, although these proteins are thought to play a similar role in the adhesion process, the structure of Bc28.1 from B. canis appears unrelated to the previously published structure of Bd37 from B. divergens. Site-directed mutagenesis experiments also suggest that the mechanism of the interaction with the erythrocyte membrane could be different for the two proteins. The resolution of the structure of Bc28 represents a milestone for the characterization of the parasite erythrocyte binding and its interaction with the host immune system.

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Major Surface Antigens in Zoonotic Babesia.

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