title: Babesia rodhaini: the protective effect of pyruvate kinase deficiency in mice.
abstract: Despite the evidence suggesting that mouse pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency provides protection against malaria in rodents, there has been no investigation of a parallel protective effect against babesiosis caused by Babesia rodhaini. Here, we examined whether a PK-deficient co-isogenic mouse strain (CBA-Pk-1(slc)) was protected against B. rodhaini infection. We demonstrated that deficiency in pyruvate kinase correlated with a significant protective effect, with survival rates of 50%, 58% and 56% in groups inoculated with 10, 10(3) and 10(5) parasitized erythrocytes, respectively. In contrast, control CBA (CBA-Pk-1(+)) mice exhibited 100% lethality, regardless of the infectious dose. In addition, CBA-Pk-1(slc) mice showed decreased levels of parasitemia when compared to CBA-Pk-1(+) mice, in groups given 10, 10(3) or 10(5) parasitized erythrocytes. These results indicate that similar to PK deficiency in rodents, PK deficiency in mice affects the in vivo growth of B. rodhaini and protects the mice from lethal babesiosis.
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno-Gakuen University, Ebetsu, Hokkaido 069-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oka
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tabara
authors.forename: Kohei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujisawa
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jinnai
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: Chiaki
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ishihara
authors.forename: Masayoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsuji
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001403:Babesia / Q000276:immunology*; D001404:Babesiosis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D018512:Parasitemia / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D011770:Pyruvate Kinase / Q000172:deficiency*
chemical_list: D011770:Pyruvate Kinase