Theileria parasite infection in East Asia and control of the disease.
Bovine piroplasmosis caused by Theileria sergenti is a major cause of economic loss in grazing cattle in Japan. We found that parasite stocks and isolates consist of genetically and antigenically mixed populations. To differentiate among parasite populations bearing 3 allelic forms of p32/34, an immunodominant piroplasmin surface protein, 3 sets of oligonucleotide primers were designed to amplify either of 3 alleles of T. sergenti/T. buffeli/T. orientalis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). By using this allele-specific PCR, we found that in East Asia the majority of bovines infected with benign Theileria parasites harbored mixed parasite population. As a possible means of controlling Theileria sergenti infection, we produced 2 candidate vaccines; a bactilovirus expressed recombinant p32 and a synthetic peptide containing of Lys-Glu Lys (KEK) motif. Immunization with either of two candidates resulted in lower parasitemia and reduced the severity of clinical symptoms as compared to control calves.
Onuma
M
M
Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
Kakuda
T
T
Sugimoto
C
C
D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001315:Australia; D001483:Base Sequence; D002417:Cattle; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000737:chemistry; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry; D005202:Asia, Eastern; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D016052:Protozoan Vaccines / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D016794:Theileria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D013801:Theileriasis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014611:Vaccination / Q000662:veterinary*; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000276:immunology
D017931:DNA Primers; D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D016052:Protozoan Vaccines; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic; C085175:piroplasm surface protein p32, Theileria sergenti