Advances in Babesia Vaccine Development: An Overview

Jerzak, Michał A.; Gandurski, Albert; Tokaj, Marta; Stachera, Weronika; Szuba, Magdalena; Dybicz, Monika

doi:10.3390/pathogens12020300

Cited by 8 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 102 publications

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“…An important role in the response to infection is played by the spleen, which is a link in the mechanism of the cellular immune response [28]. T lymphocytes secrete INF-α causing degradation of intracellular forms of B. microti; however, this mechanism is not fully understood [29][30][31]. A lot of unknown facts remain regarding the tropism of different species of the genus Babesia to erythrocytes, the diversity of Babesia spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Histopathological Analysis of Selected Organs of Rats with Congenital Babesiosis Caused by Babesia microti

Jasik

Kleczka

Filipowska

2023

Veterinary Sciences

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Babesiosis is a tick-borne disease with an increasing number of cases each year. Due to the non-specific symptoms of babesiosis, insightful analyses of the pathogenesis of babesiosis are still very important. Transmission of the disease occurs in a few ways, which makes laboratory diagnosis of piroplasmosis important. Complications associated with the infection can be tragic, especially in patients with immunological disorders. The aim of this study was the histopathological analysis of the spleen and kidney of young Wistar rats infected transplacentally with Babesia microti. Female rats were infected with a reference strain of B. microti (ATCC 30221), and then, birth 3-week-old males were euthanized with isoflurane. Subsequently, the material was collected at autopsy for microscopic and ultrastructural examination. Microscopic and ultrastructural analysis of the spleen and kidney showed degenerative changes within the organ parenchyma and the capsules surrounding the organ. Regenerative and reparative changes through mitotic divisions of parenchymal cells were also evident. Merozoites of B. microti were visible in the section of erythrocytes and the cells building the organ stroma. The results presented in this study proved the negative effects of B. microti on cells and tissues in rats with congenital babesiosis.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Histopathological Analysis of Selected Organs of Rats with Congenital Babesiosis Caused by Babesia microti

Jasik

Kleczka

Filipowska

2023

Veterinary Sciences

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“…culture supernatants, including Babesia bovis and B. bigemina [ 7 , 8 , 14 , 15 ]. The use of recombinant subunits and synthetic peptide-based vaccines has also been recently reviewed [ 16 , 17 ]. In Australia, the use of live attenuated vaccines obtained by multiple passages in splenectomized calves has been well described [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 16 , 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of recombinant subunits and synthetic peptide-based vaccines has also been recently reviewed [ 16 , 17 ]. In Australia, the use of live attenuated vaccines obtained by multiple passages in splenectomized calves has been well described [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 16 , 17 ]. An experimental live attenuated vaccine has been developed and tested in vaccinated cattle under a variety of controlled needle-challenge and tick-transmitted Babesia natural challenges, showing high efficacy results.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Babesia bigemina Attenuated Vaccine and Virulent Strains of Mexican Origin

Santamaria,

Estrada,

López

et al. 2024

Vaccines

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Bovine babesiosis, caused by the protozoan Babesia bigemina, is one of the most important hemoparasite diseases of cattle in Mexico and the world. An attenuated B. bigemina strain maintained under in vitro culture conditions has been used as a live attenuated vaccine; however, the biological mechanisms involved in attenuation are unknown. The objective of this study was to identify, through a comparative transcriptomics approach, the components of the B. bigemina virulent parasites that are differentially expressed in vivo, as opposed to those expressed by B. bigemina attenuated vaccine parasites when inoculated into naïve cattle. The biological material under study was obtained by inoculating spleen-intact cattle with infected erythrocytes containing either the attenuated strain or a virulent field strain. After RNA extraction, transcriptomic analysis (RNA-seq) was performed, followed by bioinformatic Differential Expression (DE) analysis and Gene Ontology (GO) term enrichment. The high-throughput sequencing results obtained by analyzing three biological replicates for each parasite strain ranged from 9,504,000 to 9,656,000, and 13,400,000 to 15,750,000 reads for the B. bigemina attenuated and virulent strains, respectively. At least 519 differentially expressed genes were identified in the analyzed strains. In addition, GO analysis revealed both similarities and differences across the three categories: cellular components, biological processes, and molecular functions. The attenuated strain of B. bigemina derived from in vitro culture presents global transcriptomic changes when compared to the virulent strain. Moreover, the obtained data provide insights into the potential molecular mechanisms associated with the attenuation or pathogenicity of each analyzed strain, offering molecular markers that might be associated with virulence or potential vaccine candidates.

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“…Despite the tremendous efforts of scientists to create a vaccine that would successfully protect against parasitic diseases, only one is registered for humans (though there are and several for animals) [ 7 , 8 ]. The review presented in this Special Issue by Jerzak et al [ 9 ] summarises the literature data on anti-Babesia vaccines and underlines the major problems which are faced by scientists. Among others, the lack of a reliable source of parasites for whole-parasite vaccine production, their genetic variation, which complicates the selection of antigens for subunit vaccines, and the scarcity of human-specific strong adjuvants complicate the process of vaccine development.…”

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confidence: 99%