Microorganisms cause varying degrees of stimulation of superoxide (O2-) production (respiratory burst [RB]) in macrophages but in some cases apparently inhibit the RB induced in the same monolayers by a conventional stimulator. We have explored these differences. A mycobacterium model, the slowly multiplying mouse pathogen Mycobacterium microti, induced a modest RB in resident macrophage monola...

Ixodes scapularis ticks are implicated in transmission of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia miyamotoi, Babesia microti, and Powassan virus. We describe the establishment and implementation of the first multiplex real-time PCR assay with the capability to simultaneously detect and differentiate all five pathogens in a single reaction. The application of this assay for ana...

Figure 1. Wright Giemsa-stained thin prep peripheral blood smears (original magnification, ϫ1000) demonstrating appliqué (B) and headphone (C) morphologies, which are characteristic of Plasmodium falciparum, and extracellular ring forms (D), which are characteristic of Babesia microti. Diagnosis: Babesiosis due to Babesia microti infection from a tick bite. Peripheral blood smear from the state...

The intraerythrocytic apicomplexan Babesia microti is the primary causative agent of human babesiosis, which is an infectious disease that occurs in various regions around the world. Although the aldo-keto reductases (AKRs) of this parasite have been sequenced and annotated, their biological properties remain unknown. AKRs are a superfamily of enzymes with diverse functions in the reduction of ...

The recent range expansion of human babesiosis in the northeastern United States, once found only in restricted coastal sites, is not well understood. This study sought to utilize a large number of samples to examine the population structure of the parasites on a fine scale to provide insights into the mode of emergence across the region. 228 B. microti samples collected in endemic northeastern...

Babesia microti is an emerging zoonotic protozoan organism that causes "malaria-like" symptoms that can be fatal in immunocompromised people. Owing to lack of specific therapeutic regiment against the disease, we cloned and characterized B. microti lactate dehydrogenase (BmLDH) as a potential molecular drug receptor. The in vitro kinetic properties of BmLDH enzyme was evaluated using nicotinami...

Babesiosis, due to infection by a tick-borne protozoan (predominantly Babesia microti in North America), is an emerging health risk that is expanding into new areas and may be unfamiliar to clinicians in locations not previously considered endemic. Manifestations of infection can range from asymptomatic to life threatening, with severe disease more likely in those who have had a splenectomy, ar...

A new strain of Babesia microti (KR-1) was isolated from a Connecticut resident with babesiosis by hamster inoculation and adapted to C3H/HeJ and BALB/c mice. To examine the relative importance of humoral and cellular immunity for the control of B. microti infection, we compared the course of disease in wild-type BALB/c mice with that in BALB/c SCID mice, JHD-null (B-cell-deficient) mice, and T...