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Infect Immun, June 1998, p. 2922-2927, Vol. 66, No. 6
Department of Veterinary Microbiology and
Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington,
99164,1 and
Instituto Nacional
Technologia Agropecuaria, 2300-Rafaela, Santa Fe,
Argentina2
Received 22 July 1997/Returned for modification 18 August
1997/Accepted 2 March 1998
Babesia bigemina infection of mature bovine
erythrocytes results in new proteins specifically exposed on the
parasitized cell surface. Monoclonal antibody (MAb) 64/32 binds a
protein, designated p94, on B. bigemina-infected
erythrocytes but not on either uninfected or B. bovis-parasitized erythrocytes. However, p94 was not encoded by
B. bigemina and was not a parasite-modified erythrocyte
membrane protein. In contrast, we showed that p94 could be eluted from the infected erythrocyte surface and was identified as specifically bound immunoglobulin M (IgM) heavy chain for the following
reasons: (i) MAb 64/32 bound a reduced molecule of 94 kDa in both
infected erythrocyte lysates and normal bovine serum; (ii) MAb 64/32
bound a 94-kDa molecule in reduced preparations of purified IgM; (iii) an anti-bovine µ heavy-chain MAb, BIg73, reacted specifically with
the surface of infected erythrocytes and bound the 94-kDa molecule in
lysates of infected erythrocytes, normal bovine serum, and purified
IgM; and (iv) immunoprecipitation of infected erythrocyte lysates with
MAb 64/32 depleted the 94-kDa antigen bound by anti-µ MAb BIg73 and
vice versa. Binding of IgM to the infected erythrocyte surface was
detected in vivo early in acute parasitemia and occurred during both
the trophozoite and merozoite stages of intraerythrocytic parasitism.
The common feature of IgM binding to the parasitized erythrocyte surface among otherwise genetically and antigenically distinct B. bigemina strains is suggestive of an
advantageous role in parasite survival in vivo.
0019-9567/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
In Vivo Binding of Immunoglobulin M to the Surfaces
of Babesia bigemina-Infected Erythrocytes
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University,
Pullman, WA 99164-7040. Phone: (509) 335-6033. Fax: (509) 335-8529. E-mail: gpalmer{at}vetmed.wsu.edu.
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