Suchergebnisse

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.-- et al. ; The diversity of Babesia species infecting cervids in parts of central and southern Spain was analyzed by collecting blood from farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus). Babesia sp. was isolated in vitro from two red deer herds in Cádiz and Ciudad Real. The number of Babesia sp. carriers differed between the two herds: 36/77 in Cádiz and 1/35 in Ciudad Real. Hyalomma lusitanicum was the most prevalent tick species identified on the Cádiz farm vegetation and on sampled animals, and is therefore a candidate vector. The molecular characteristics of 21 isolates were determined by complete (8 isolates) or partial (13 isolates) 18S rRNA gene sequencing. The sequences were highly similar (over 99.4% identity) and 6 sequence types were identified at the level of one herd only, demonstrating a rather high genetic diversity. They formed a monophyletic clade, and members of the three main sequence types shared a similar morphology and the same erythrocyte susceptibility pattern. This clade also included Babesia sp. Xinjiang isolated from sheep in China and Babesia sp. identified in giraffe in South Africa, with identities higher than 98.3% and statistically relevant phylogenetic support. None of the biological properties analyzed for both Babesia from red deer and Babesia sp. Xinjiang allowed their differentiation (ability to develop in vitro in erythrocytes from cattle and sheep, as well as in erythrocytes from different cervids, unsuccessful infection of calves). We propose the Babesia isolated from red deer as a new species named B. pecorum. Whether Babesia sp. Xinjiang and the Babesia characterized in South Africa belong to the same species is debated. ; This research was supported by funds from the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, the European Union Cooperation Project PIROVAC (KBBE-3-245145) and from the project "Zoonosis transmitidas por vectores hematófagos en Castilla-La Mancha: Mapa de riesgos" (JCCM POII09-0141-8176) and CDTI/Medianilla. F. Ruiz-Fons and I.G. Fernández de Mera are supported by a Juan de la Cierva contract from the Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness. ; Peer Reviewed

Letter to the Editor. ; This research was supported by European Union grants 278976 from the following programs of the EMIDA ERANET (Coordination of European Research on Emerging and Major Infectious Diseases of Livestock; www.emida-era. net): ANTIGONE (Anticipating the Global Onset of Novel Epidemics) and APHAEA (Harmonised Approaches in Monitoring Wildlife Population Health). ; Peer Reviewed

Letter to the Editor. ; F. R.-F. and I.G.F.M. are supported by a Juan de la Cierva contract from the Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness. Research supported by POII09-0141-8176 and European Union FP7 ANTIGONE (Anticipating the Global Onset of Novel Epidemics) project number 278976. ; Peer Reviewed

In late summer 2010 a mosquito born flavivirus not previously reported in Europe called Bagaza virus (BAGV) caused high mortality in red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa) and ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus). We studied clinical findings, lesions and viral antigen distribution in naturally BAGV infected game birds in order to understand the apparently higher impact on red-legged partridges. The disease induced neurologic signs in the two galliform species and, to a lesser extent, in common wood pigeons (Columba palumbus). In red-legged partridges infection by BAGV caused severe haemosiderosis in the liver and spleen that was absent in pheasants and less evident in common wood pigeons. Also, BAGV antigen was present in vascular endothelium in multiple organs in red-legged partridges, and in the spleen in common wood pigeons, while in ring-necked pheasants it was only detected in neurons and glial cells in the brain. These findings indicate tropism of BAGV for endothelial cells and a severe haemolytic process in red-legged partridges in addition to the central nervous lesions that were found in all three species. ; This study was supported by grant AG2008-02504GAN funded by the Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation. A.V. Gutiérrez-Guzmán (PAC08-0296-7771) and V. Gamino (323/09) are research fellows supported by the regional government of Castilla – La Mancha (JCCM) and I.G. Fernández-de-Mera was funded by MCINN Program Juan de la Cierva, JCI-2009-04518, Spain. ; Peer Reviewed

Anaplasma phagocytophilum transmembrane and surface proteins play a role during infection and multiplication in host neutrophils and tick vector cells. Recently, A. phagocytophilum Major surface protein 4 (MSP4) and Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) were shown to be localized on the bacterial membrane, with a possible role during pathogen infection in ticks. In this study, we hypothesized that A. phagocytophilum MSP4 and HSP70 have similar functions in tick-pathogen and host-pathogen interactions. To address this hypothesis, herein we characterized the role of these bacterial proteins in interaction and infection of vertebrate host cells. The results showed that A. phagocytophilum MSP4 and HSP70 are involved in host-pathogen interactions, with a role for HSP70 during pathogen infection. The analysis of the potential protective capacity of MSP4 and MSP4-HSP70 antigens in immunized sheep showed that MSP4-HSP70 was only partially protective against pathogen infection. This limited protection may be associated with several factors, including the recognition of non-protective epitopes by IgG in immunized lambs. Nevertheless, these antigens may be combined with other candidate protective antigens for the development of vaccines for the control of human and animal granulocytic anaplasmosis. Focusing on the characterization of host protective immune mechanisms and protein-protein interactions at the host-pathogen interface may lead to the discovery and design of new effective protective antigens. ; This research was partially supported by the Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad (Spain) grants AGL2014-56305 and BFU2016-79892-P, the European Union (EU) Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) ANTIGONE project number 278976, and the CSIC grant 201440E098 to Jd. MV and LM were supported by the Research Plan of the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), Spain. ; Peer Reviewed

Tick-borne infectious diseases and allergies are a growing problem worldwide. Tick bite allergy has been associated with the direct effect of immunoglobulin E (IgE) response to tick salivary antigens, or secondary to the induction of allergy to red meat consumption through IgE antibodies against the carbohydrate α-Gal (Gal α 1-3Gal β 1-(3)4GlcNAc-R). However, despite the growing burden of this pathology, the proteins associated with anaphylaxis to tick bite have not been characterized. To address this question, a comparative proteomics approach was used to characterize tick proteins producing an IgE antibody response in a healthy individual with record of tick bites, which had not resulted in any allergic reactions, and two patients with anaphylactic reactions to Rhipicephalus bursa or Hyalomma marginatum tick bites. Both patients and the healthy individual were red meat tolerant. The results supported a patientspecific IgE antibody response to tick species responsible for the anaphylaxis to tick bite. Both patients and the healthy individual serologically recognized tick proteins with and without a-Gal modifications, with proteins differentially recognized by patients but not control sera. These proteins could be used as potential antigens for diagnostics, treatment and prevention of tick bite-induced allergies. ; Part of this research was supported by the European Union FP7 ANTIGONE project number 278976. L.M-H was supported by the University of Castilla La Mancha (UCLM, Spain) fellowship. M.V and I.G.FM were supported by the Research Plan of UCLM. F.R-F was supported by the 'Ramón y Cajal' program of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. ; Peer Reviewed