Journal article
Characterization of Allelic Variation in the Babesia bovis Merozoite Surface Antigen 1 (MSA-1) Locus and Identification of a Cross-Reactive Inhibition-Sensitive MSA-1 Epitope
Infection and immunity, Vol.68(12), pp.6865-6870
12/2000
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/110255
PMCID: PMC97791
PMID: 11083806
Abstract
The
Babesia bovis
merozoite surface antigen 1 (MSA-1), a member of the variable merozoite surface antigen (VMSA) family, is an immunodominant glycoprotein which elicits antibodies that inhibit erythrocyte invasion. While antigenic polymorphism is a general feature of
vmsa
genes, the molecular basis and extent of
msa-1
sequence polymorphism have not been well characterized. In this study we defined the
msa-1
locus in the biologically cloned Mexico Mo7 strain of
B. bovis
and identified the sequence differences between MSA-1 antigenically dissimilar strains. We then determined whether sequences conserved between distinct
msa-1
alleles would induce cross-reactive CD4
+
T lymphocytes or inhibitory antibodies. The
msa-1
locus in Mo7 contains a single
msa-1
gene flanked by transcribed genes with no sequence homology to members of the VMSA gene family. Argentina
B. bovis
strains R1A and S2P have
msa-1
genes with amino acid sequences that are 98.8% identical to each other, and antibodies against S2P MSA-1 cross-react with native R1A MSA-1. In contrast, identity between the Argentina and Mexico Mo7
msa-1
alleles is only 52%, with no continuous stretch of identity longer than 16 amino acids. Despite limited sequence conservation, antibodies against R1A MSA-1 were able to inhibit invasion of erythrocytes by Mo7 merozoites. The results indicate that inhibition-sensitive epitopes are conserved despite significant sequence divergence between Mexico and Argentina strain alleles and support a conserved functional role for polymorphic MSA-1 in erythrocyte invasion.
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Details
- Title
- Characterization of Allelic Variation in the Babesia bovis Merozoite Surface Antigen 1 (MSA-1) Locus and Identification of a Cross-Reactive Inhibition-Sensitive MSA-1 Epitope
- Creators
- Carlos E Suarez - Program in Vector-Borne Diseases, Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164Monica Florin-Christensen - Program in Vector-Borne Diseases, Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164Stephen A Hines - Program in Vector-Borne Diseases, Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164Guy H Palmer - Program in Vector-Borne Diseases, Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164Wendy C Brown - Program in Vector-Borne Diseases, Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164Terry F McElwain - Program in Vector-Borne Diseases, Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164
- Publication Details
- Infection and immunity, Vol.68(12), pp.6865-6870
- Academic Unit
- Veterinary Medicine, College of; Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Department of; Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health
- Publisher
- American Society for Microbiology
- Identifiers
- 99900547220301842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article