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- Title
The GP-45 Protein, a Highly Variable Antigen from Babesia bigemina , Contains Conserved B-Cell Epitopes in Geographically Distant Isolates.
- Authors
Mercado-Uriostegui, Miguel Angel; Castro-Sánchez, Luis Alberto; Batiha, Gaber El-Saber; Valdez-Espinoza, Uriel Mauricio; Falcón-Neri, Alfonso; Ramos-Aragon, Juan Alberto; Hernández-Ortiz, Ruben; Kawazu, Shin-Ichiro; Igarashi, Ikuo; Mosqueda, Juan
- Abstract
In B. bigemina, the 45 kilodaltons glycoprotein (GP-45) is the most studied. GP-45 is exposed on the surface of the B. bigemina merozoite, it is believed to play a role in the invasion of erythrocytes, and it is characterized by a high genetic and antigenic polymorphism. The objective of this study was to determine if GP-45 contains conserved B-cell epitopes, and if they would induce neutralizing antibodies. The comparative analysis of nucleotide and amino acids sequences revealed a high percentage of similarity between field isolates. Antibodies against peptides containing conserved B-cell epitopes of GP-45 were generated. Antibodies present in the sera of mice immunized with GP-45 peptides specifically recognize B. bigemina by the IFAT. More than 95% of cattle naturally infected with B. bigemina contained antibodies against conserved GP-45 peptides tested by ELISA. Finally, sera from rabbits immunized with GP-45 peptides were evaluated in vitro neutralization tests and it was shown that they reduced the percentage of parasitemia compared to sera from rabbits immunized with adjuvant. GP-45 from geographically distant isolates of B. bigemina contains conserved B-cell epitopes that induce neutralizing antibodies suggesting that this gene and its product play a critical role in the survival of the parasite under field conditions.
- Subjects
AMINO acid sequence; B cells; EPITOPES; ERYTHROCYTES; IMMUNOGLOBULINS; ANTIGENS; BABESIA; NEUTRALIZATION tests
- Publication
Pathogens, 2022, Vol 11, Issue 5, p591
- ISSN
2076-0817
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/pathogens11050591