Conserved recombinant antigens of Anaplasma marginale and Babesia equi for serologic diagnosis

Stability and tick transmission phenotype of gfp-transformed Anaplasma marginale through a complete in vivo infection cycle

We tested the stability and tick transmission phenotype of transformed Anaplasma marginale through a complete in vivo infection cycle. Similar to the wild type, the gfp-transformed A. marginale strain established infection in cattle, a natural reservoir host, and persisted in immune competent animals. The tick infection rates for the transformed A. marginale and the wild type were the same. However, there were significantly lower levels of the transformed A. marginale than of the wild type in the tick. Despite the lower levels of replication, ticks transmitted the transformant. Transformants can serve as valuable tools to dissect the molecular requirements of tick colonization and pathogen transmission.

Detection of Babesia equi (Laveran, 1901) by nested polymerase chain reaction

We describe a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of Babesia equi in equine infected erythrocytes using oligonucleotides designed on the published sequence of a B. equi merozoite antigen gene (ema-1). A 102bp DNA fragment is specifically amplified from B. equi but not from Babesia caballi, Babesia bovis or Babesia bigemina DNA. In a mock infection we were able to detect down to six infected cells in 10(8) equine erythrocytes or to detect the parasite in blood with an equivalent parasitemia of 0.000006%. Furthermore, gene polymorphism was found by performing a PCR-RFLP (PCR combined with restriction fragment length polymorphism) on both the 102bp and the entire ema-1 gene DNA amplified from two B. equi isolates, Florida (USA) and Pelotas (Southern Brazil) isolates. The polymorphism was confirmed by sequencing the entire ema-1 gene from the B. equi isolate Pelotas. Our results demonstrate that the ema-1 based nested PCR is a valuable technique for routine detection of B. equi in chronically infected horses. It may be used for epidemiological and phylogenetic studies of the parasite as well as monitoring B. equi infected horses in chemotherapeutic trials.

Anaplasmosis control. Past, present, and future

Control methods for anaplasmosis have not changed markedly during the past 50 years and include arthropod control, chemoprophylaxsis, vaccination, and maintenance of an Anaplasma-free herd. Control measures implemented vary with geographic location, and depend on availability, cost, and the feasibility of application. Vaccination has been an effective means of preventing outbreaks of anaplasmosis, but these vaccines, both live and inactivated, are dependent on bovine blood as the source of infection or antigen. Blood-derived vaccines are difficult to standardize and bear the risk of transmitting other bovine pathogens inapparent at the time of blood collection. Extensive purification is required to remove bovine cell membranes, which may cause side effects. Most importantly, geographic isolates of A. marginale are often not cross-protective. Development of a tick cell culture system for A. marginale shows promise as a source of antigen for development of an improved inactivated vaccine in the near future that is free from bovine pathogens. Development of an antigenically defined molecular vaccine appears to be a realistic goal, although further research is required to determine epitopes involved in both humoral and cellular immunity, to define antigenic variation during cyclic rickettsemia, and to develop effective delivery systems for optimization of the immune response.

Evaluation of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect antibodies against Anaplasma marginale

A rapid indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for measuring antibodies against Anaplasma marginale using a partially soluble antigen prepared from semi-purified initial bodies from erythrocytes with 80.0% of rickettsiaemia. This technique utilized alkaline phosphatase and p-nitrophenyl phosphate as reaction indicators. The high sensitivity (100.0%) was confirmed with sera from 100 calves experimentally-infected with A. marginale. All of these animals showed seroconversion before or at the same time of the first rickettsiaemia or even when it was not detected. Also the elevated specificity (94.0%) was confirmed by the low percentage of cross-reactions with sera from animals experimentally-infected with Babesia bigemina and Babesia bovis (1.4 and 6.6%, respectively). Performances of ELISA and indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) with 324 sera from enzootically stable area did not show statistical difference (P>0.05), since the former showed 96.9% and the latter 97.2% of positive reactions. The advantage of this ELISA is a shorter execution time than others developed until now, allowing more samples to be analyzed.

Serological expression cloning of novel immunoreactive antigens of Babesia microti

Increased recognition of the prevalence of human babesiosis in the United States, together with rising concern about the potential for transmission of this infection by blood transfusion, has provided motivation to develop definitive serologic and molecular tests for the causative agent, Babesia microti. To develop more sensitive and specific assays for B. microti, we screened a genomic expression library with patient serum pools. This screening resulted in the identification of three classes of novel genes and an additional two novel, unrelated genes, which together encode a total of 17 unique B. microti antigens. The first class (BMN1-2 family) of genes encodes seven closely related antigens with a degenerate six-amino-acid repeat that shows limited homology to Plasmodium sp. merozoite and sporozoite surface antigens. A second class (BMN1-8 family) of genes encodes six related antigens, and the third class (BMN1-17 family) of genes encodes two related antigens. The two remaining genes code for novel and unrelated sequences. Among the three classes of antigens and remaining novel sequences, five were chosen to code for the most immunodominant antigens (BMN1-2, -9, -15, and -17 and MN-10). Western blot analysis with the resulting recombinant proteins indicated that these antigens were targets of humoral immune responses during B. microti infection in humans.

Molecular detection of Babesia equi and Babesia caballi in horse blood by PCR amplification of part of the 16S rRNA gene

Babesia equi and Babesia caballi are tick-borne haemoparasites that may cause babesiosis of Equidae. In southern Europe B. equi is enzootic and infections may occur asymptomatically and more frequently than those due to B. caballi. Complement fixation test (CFT) is the official serological test for the diagnosis of equine babesiosis, but it has low sensitivity during early and latent stages of the disease. With the aim of developing more sensitive and rapid direct diagnostic alternatives, PCR systems that amplified DNA targets of 664 or 659 bp regions of the 16S rRNA genes were designed and demonstrated to specifically detect the genomes of B. equi and B. caballi, respectively. An approximated parasitaemia of 0.000083% was detected by the PCR system for B. equi compared with reported limits of 0.001% for microscopic examination of stained blood smears, and up to 0.00025% for DNA probes. Although the sensitivity of the PCR system for B. caballi could not be estimated, samples with microscopically undetectable parasitaemia as well as those with 0.017% parasitised red blood cells were detected. DNA extracts of blood collected with EDTA as an anticoagulant from 23 horses from Portugal were tested with both PCR systems. Of these samples, 22 were positive for B. equi and 8 were positive for B. caballi with PCR tests and intraerythrocytic parasites were seen in all samples. Antibodies against both parasites were not detected by CFT in several cases, but in these cases the presence of either or both parasites was apparent by PCR tests. The PCR systems may be useful in the diagnosis of equine babesiosis covering a wider range of clinical disease, as useful adjuncts to serological, microscopic, and cultural methods, especially for the import and export testing of horses.

Evaluation of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using recombinant major surface protein 5 for serological diagnosis of bovine anaplasmosis in Venezuela

An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for the serological diagnosis of bovine anaplasmosis with purified recombinant major surface protein 5 (MSP5) of Anaplasma marginale produced in Escherichia coli. Serum antibody responses against MSP5 were detected in calves experimentally infected with A. marginale as early as 21 days postinfection and reached maximum titers at 28 days postinfection. The MSP5 ELISA performed with serum samples taken from field cattle from different regions of Venezuela showed a seroprevalence of 47%, which seems to be in accordance with the reported epidemiological status of bovine anaplasmosis in Venezuela. Positive results obtained in the MSP5 ELISA were further confirmed by immunoblotting, with the recombinant MSP5 as the antigen. Thus, these results confirmed the importance of MSP5 as a suitable antigen for the serological diagnosis of bovine anaplasmosis.