Identification and Characterization of the Rhoptry Neck Protein 2 in Babesia divergens and B. microti.

ABSTRACT: Apicomplexan parasites include those of the genera Plasmodium, Cryptosporidium, and Toxoplasma and those of the relatively understudied zoonotic genus Babesia In humans, babesiosis, particularly transfusion-transmitted babesiosis, has been emerging as a major threat to public health. Like malaria, the disease pathology is a consequence of the parasitemia which develops through cyclical replication of Babesia parasites in host erythrocytes. However, there are no exoerythrocytic stages in Babesia, so targeting of the blood stage and associated proteins to directly prevent parasite invasion is the most desirable option for effective disease control. Especially promising among such molecules are the rhoptry neck proteins (RONs), whose homologs have been identified in many apicomplexan parasite

SUBMITTER: Ord RL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4862700 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature