1
|
Carvajal-Gamez BI, Olguín-Barrera A, Tinoco-Gracia L, Gordillo-Perez G, Dzul-Rosado K, Aguilar-Tipacamú G, Hidalgo-Ruiz M, Mosqueda J. Development and validation of a novel detection method for Rickettsia rickettsii using a loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay. Front Microbiol 2024; 14:1276809. [PMID: 38260903 PMCID: PMC10800886 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1276809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Rickettsia rickettsii is an obligate, intracellular pathogen and the causative agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF). RMSF is an important zoonotic disease due to its high fatal outcome in humans. The difficulty of clinical diagnosis due to the low sensitivity and specificity of current diagnostic methods are a principal setback. We reported the development of a new method for the detection of R. rickettsii in human and tick DNA samples using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), as well as the validation of the LAMP test for R. rickettsii in field samples of infected ticks and humans, determining the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity, as well as the reproducibility of the test. Methods This technique uses hydroxy naphthol blue (HNB) as an indicator of the formation of magnesium pyrophosphate, a marker for the presence of DNA. Here, we used a putative R. rickettsii gene as a target for three pairs of primers that specifically amplify R. rickettsii DNA by hairpin-based isothermal amplification technique (LAMP). Results and discussion The sensitivity of the assay was ~1.6-3 pg, which is 10 times more sensitive than PCR. To determine the diagnostics specificity and sensitivity, 103 human DNA samples and 30 tick DNA samples were evaluated. For the human samples, a sensitivity for HNB of 93%, a specificity of 70% and a k of 0.53 were obtained. For electrophoresis the sensitivity was 97% with a specificity of 58% and a k of 0.42. For tick samples, a sensitivity of 80% was obtained, a specificity of 93% for HNB and for electrophoresis the sensitivity and specificity were 87%. The k for both was 0.73. The degree of concordance between HNB and electrophoresis was 0.82 for humans and for ticks, it was 0.87. The result is obtained in shorter time, compared to a PCR protocol, and is visually interpreted by the color change. Therefore, this method could be a reliable tool for the early diagnosis of rickettsiosis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bertha I. Carvajal-Gamez
- Immunology and Vaccines Laboratory, Natural Sciences College, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico
- Cuerpo Academico, Salud Animal y Microbiologia Ambiental, Natural Sciences College, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico
| | - Aída Olguín-Barrera
- Immunology and Vaccines Laboratory, Natural Sciences College, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico
- Maestria en Salud y Producción Animal Sustentable, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Querétaro, Mexico
| | - Luis Tinoco-Gracia
- Laboratorio de Salud Pública Veterinaria, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Baja California, Mexico
| | - Guadalupe Gordillo-Perez
- Unidad de Investigación Médica en Enfermedades Infecciosas, Hospital de Pediatría, Centro Medico Nacional SXXI-Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Karla Dzul-Rosado
- Dr. Hideyo Noguchi Regional Research Center, Autonomous University of Yucatan, Mérida, Mexico
| | - Gabriela Aguilar-Tipacamú
- Cuerpo Academico, Salud Animal y Microbiologia Ambiental, Natural Sciences College, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico
| | - Mario Hidalgo-Ruiz
- Immunology and Vaccines Laboratory, Natural Sciences College, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico
| | - Juan Mosqueda
- Immunology and Vaccines Laboratory, Natural Sciences College, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico
- Cuerpo Academico, Salud Animal y Microbiologia Ambiental, Natural Sciences College, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Barreda D, Hidalgo-Ruiz M, Hernandez-Ortiz R, Ramos JA, Galindo-Velasco E, Mosqueda J. Identification of conserved peptides containing B-cell epitopes of Babesia bovis AMA-1 and their potential as diagnostics candidates. Transbound Emerg Dis 2019; 67 Suppl 2:60-68. [PMID: 31231975 DOI: 10.1111/tbed.13213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2018] [Revised: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 04/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA-1) is a protein of the micronemes that is present in all organisms of the phylum Apicomplexa; it has been shown that AMA-1 plays an essential role for parasite invasion to target cells. It has been reported that AMA-1 is conserved among different isolates of Babesia; however, it is unknown whether the protein contains conserved B-cell epitopes and whether these epitopes are recognized by antibodies from cattle in endemic areas. In this research, using an in silico analysis, four peptides were designed containing exposed and conserved linear B-cell epitopes from the extracellular region of Babesia bovis AMA-1. The selected peptides were chemically synthesized, and then each peptide was emulsified and used to immunize two bovines per peptide. The antibodies produced against these peptides were able to recognize intra-erythrocytic parasites in an IFAT, except peptide 4, which was insoluble. The synthetic peptides were covalently fixed to the wells of an ELISA plate and incubated with sera from B. bovis naturally infected cattle. Peptides P2AMA and P3AMA were recognized by the sera of naturally infected cattle from different regions of Mexico. Statistical analysis showed that the ELISA test for peptides P2AMA and P3AMA had a concordance of 91.2% and 61.1% compared to the IFAT, a sensitivity of 94.56% and 71.74%, and a specificity of 76.19% and 14.2%, respectively. The presence of antibodies in bovine sera from endemic areas that bind to the identified peptides indicates that AMA-1 from B. bovis has conserved B-cell epitopes involved in the immune response under natural conditions. However, to propose their use as vaccine or diagnostics candidates, a further characterization of the humoral immune response elicited in cattle by these peptides is needed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dante Barreda
- Immunology and Vaccines Laboratory, C. A. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Queretaro, Mexico.,Maestría en Ciencias de la Producción y de la Salud Animal, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Mario Hidalgo-Ruiz
- Immunology and Vaccines Laboratory, C. A. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Queretaro, Mexico
| | | | | | | | - Juan Mosqueda
- Immunology and Vaccines Laboratory, C. A. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Queretaro, Mexico
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Hidalgo-Ruiz M, Suarez CE, Mercado-Uriostegui MA, Hernandez-Ortiz R, Ramos JA, Galindo-Velasco E, León-Ávila G, Hernández JM, Mosqueda J. Babesia bovis RON2 contains conserved B-cell epitopes that induce an invasion-blocking humoral immune response in immunized cattle. Parasit Vectors 2018; 11:575. [PMID: 30390674 PMCID: PMC6215676 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-018-3164-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2018] [Accepted: 10/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Babesia bovis belongs to the phylum Apicomplexa and is the major causal agent of bovine babesiosis, the most important veterinary disease transmitted by arthropods. In apicomplexan parasites, the interaction between AMA1 and RON2 is necessary for the invasion process, and it is a target for vaccine development. In B. bovis, the existence of AMA1 has already been reported; however, the presence of a homolog of RON2 is unknown. The aim of this study was to characterize RON2 in B. bovis. Results The B. bovis ron2 gene has a similar synteny with the orthologous gene in the B. bigemina genome. The entire ron2 gene was sequenced from different B. bovis strains showing > 99% similarity at the amino acid and nucleotide level among all the sequences obtained, including the characteristic CLAG domain for cytoadherence in the amino acid sequence, as is described in other Apicomplexa. The in silico transcription analysis showed similar levels of transcription between attenuated and virulent B. bovis strains, and expression of RON2 was confirmed by western blot in the B. bovis T3Bo virulent strain. Four conserved peptides, containing predicted B-cell epitopes in hydrophilic regions of the protein, were designed and chemically synthesized. The humoral immune response generated by the synthetic peptides was characterized in bovines, showing that anti-RON2 antibodies against peptides recognized intraerythrocytic merozoites of B. bovis. Only peptides P2 and P3 generated partially neutralizing antibodies that had an inhibitory effect of 28.10% and 21.42%, respectively, on the invasion process of B. bovis in bovine erythrocytes. Consistently, this effect is additive since inhibition increased to 42.09% when the antibodies were evaluated together. Finally, P2 and P3 peptides were also recognized by 83.33% and 87.77%, respectively, of naturally infected cattle from endemic areas. Conclusions The data support RON2 as a novel B. bovis vaccine candidate antigen that contains conserved B-cell epitopes that elicit partially neutralizing antibodies. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-018-3164-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mario Hidalgo-Ruiz
- Immunology and Vaccines Laboratory, C. A. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Carretera a Chichimequillas, Ejido Bolaños, 76140, Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico
| | - Carlos E Suarez
- Animal Disease Research Unit, USDA-ARS, 3003 ADBF, WSU, P. O. Box 647030, Pullman, WA, 99164-6630, USA
| | - Miguel A Mercado-Uriostegui
- Immunology and Vaccines Laboratory, C. A. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Carretera a Chichimequillas, Ejido Bolaños, 76140, Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico
| | - Ruben Hernandez-Ortiz
- CENID-Parasitologia Veterinaria / INIFAP, Carretera federal Cuernavaca-Cuautla #8534, Col. Progreso, 62550, Jiutepec, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Juan Alberto Ramos
- CENID-Parasitologia Veterinaria / INIFAP, Carretera federal Cuernavaca-Cuautla #8534, Col. Progreso, 62550, Jiutepec, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Edelmira Galindo-Velasco
- Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad de Colima, Km. 40 carretera Colima-Manzanillo, 28100, Tecoman, Colima, Mexico
| | - Gloria León-Ávila
- Departamento de Zoología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Carpio y Plan de Ayala, Col. Casco de Santo Tomás, 11340, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - José Manuel Hernández
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Av. IPN 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, 07360, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Juan Mosqueda
- Immunology and Vaccines Laboratory, C. A. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Carretera a Chichimequillas, Ejido Bolaños, 76140, Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Romero-Salas D, Mira A, Mosqueda J, García-Vázquez Z, Hidalgo-Ruiz M, Vela NAO, de León AAP, Florin-Christensen M, Schnittger L. Molecular and serological detection of Babesia bovis- and Babesia bigemina-infection in bovines and water buffaloes raised jointly in an endemic field. Vet Parasitol 2016; 217:101-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2015.12.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2015] [Revised: 12/21/2015] [Accepted: 12/28/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
|