Establishment of mouse infection model of Babesia microti Lishui isolate and consequent pathological changes

doi:10.12140/j.issn.1000-7423.2022.04.012

Abstract

Abstract:

Objective To establish the mouse infection model of Babesia microti Lishui isolate (isolated from one patient in Lishui, Zhejiang Province) and evaluate the change of parasitemia and pathological features during infection in the mice. Methods NOD-SCID mice were intraperitoneally inoculated with whole blood sample from a patient infected B. microti Lishui for species preservation and isolation. Fifty BALB/c mice were randomly assigned to infection group and control group, 25 mice in each group. The BALB/c mice in the infection group were intraperitoneally inoculated with 1.0 × 10⁷ infected erythrocytes from NOD-SCID mice and the BALB/c mice in the control group were inoculated with an equal volume of normal saline. The tail vein blood was collected daily to prepare the thin blood smear. The morphology of B. microti was observed under microscope after Giemsa staining, and the parasitemia was calculated. DNA was extracted from the infected mice samples. The 18S rRNA gene was amplified by Nest-PCR for sequencing, geneotyping, and phylogenetic tree analysis. At 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 days post-infection, 5 mice in each group were selected to measure their body weight, spleen weight, and spleen length. The spleen tissue sections were prepared, and the pathological characteristics were observed under a microscope after HE staining. The routine blood test for samples from the infected mice was detected by an animal automatic blood analyzer. T-test was used for comparison between the two groups. Results At 5 days post-infection, the ring forms of the B. microti Lishui isolate were observed in the blood smear in the infection group. At 10 days post-infection, two or four parasites, in the shape of a double pear-shaped or Maltese cross, could be identified in the same erythrocyte, and hemolysis occurred. The parasitemia in mice in the infection group peaked (39.1 ± 4.6)% at 10 days post-infection and decreased to less than 1% after 20 days post-infection. The 18S rRNAs of the B. microti Lishui isolate and B. microti (GenBank accession number MT423326) share 98% sequence identity at the nucleotide level, and they also clustered in the same branch on the phylogenetic tree. At 10, 15 and 20 days post-infection, the body weight of mice in the infection group was (20.60 ± 1.02), (22.04 ± 0.77) and (22.78 ± 0.64) g, which was lower than that of the control group [(23.94 ± 0.84), (24.50 ± 0.26) and (24.64 ± 0.54) g] (t = 5.64, 6.78 and 4.99, P < 0.01). At 5, 10, 15 and 20 days post-infection, the spleen weight of mice in the infection group was (0.33 ± 0.02), (0.98 ± 0.11), (0.93 ± 0.04) and (0.67 ± 0.05) g, which was higher than that of the control group [(0.11 ± 0.01), (0.12 ± 0.01), (0.10 ± 0.02) and (0.11 ± 0.01) g] (t = 21.82, 22.25, 35.62 and 10.47, P < 0.01); the spleen length of the infected mice was (2.40 ± 0.12), (3.16 ± 0.06), (3.22 ± 0.05) and (2.98 ± 0.08) cm, which was higher than that of the control group [(1.76 ± 0.09), (1.74 ± 0.09), (1.74 ± 0.15) and (1.80 ± 0.07) cm] (t = 9.44, 30.27, 20.93 and 24.09, P < 0.01). At 10 days post-infection, splenomegaly, architectural distortion, blurring of the white pulp/red pulp border, massive lymphoproliferation, and congestion of splenic sinus were recognized in the spleen of mice in the infection group. The microanatomical structure of the spleen and the border region between the red and white pulp were recovered at 20 days post-infection. The rountin blood test results showed, at 10 days post-infection, the erythrocyte count, hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular volume, erythrocyte distribution width-standard deviation, erythrocyte distribution width-coefficient of variation, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration of mice in the infection group were (4.45 ± 0.32) × 10¹²/L, (27.72 ± 2.03)%, (86.2 ± 6.0) g/L, (60.7 ± 1.4) fL, (80.1 ± 4.0) fL, (31.9 ± 1.3)%, (19.4 ± 0.4) pg and (320.4 ± 3.8) g/L, respectively, which was higher than that of the control group [(9.55 ± 0.16) × 10¹²/L, (47.94 ± 1.64)%, (163.0 ± 4.8) g/L, (48.2 ± 1.1) fL, (27.7 ± 1.3) fL, (13.5 ± 0.5)%, (16.7 ± 0.7) pg and (339.0 ± 3.9) g/L] (t = 32.24, 17.34, 22.23, 15.71, 30.33, 28.41, 7.43 and 7.61, P < 0.01). At 10 days post-infection, the white blood cell count, monocyte count, monocyte percent, neutrophil count, and neutrophil percent of the mice in the infection group were (6.76 ± 0.87) × 10⁹/L, (0.78 ± 0.20) × 10⁹/L, (9.90 ± 0.87)%, (1.92 ± 0.42) × 10⁹/L and (27.74 ± 2.67)%, which was higher than that of the control group [(3.85 ± 0.26) × 10⁹/L, (0.17 ± 0.05) × 10⁹/L, (3.28 ± 0.40)%, (0.78 ± 0.15) × 10⁹/L and (21.20 ± 1.18)%] (t = 7.12, 6.54, 15.54, 5.71 and 5.00, P < 0.01). Conclusion A mouse infection model with B. microti isolated from patient in Zhejiang Lishui was established. After infection, the mice body weight was significantly reduced, accompanying with splenomegaly, spleen structural disorder and anemia.

Key words: Babesia microti, Mice model, Spleen, Pathological characteristics

CLC Number:

531.9

SONG Peng, CAI Yu-chun, LU Yan, AI Lin, CHEN Mu-xin, CHEN Shao-hong, CHEN Jia-xu. Establishment of mouse infection model of Babesia microti Lishui isolate and consequent pathological changes[J]. CHINESE JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY AND PARASITIC DISEASES, 2022, 40(4): 493-499.

Figures/Tables 5

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Table 1

Routine blood test results of BALB/c mice infected with B. microti Lishui isolate

指标 Indicator	对照组 Control group					感染组 Infection group
指标 Indicator	0 d	5 d	10 d	15 d	20 d	0 d	5 d	10 d	15 d	20 d
红细胞计数/10¹²·L^-1 Red blood cell count/10¹²·L^-1	10.26±0.65	10.04±0.66	9.55±0.16	10.73±0.50	10.31±0.36	10.31±0.27	9.72±0.38	4.45±0.32^b	4.56±1.33^b	6.57±0.28^b
血红蛋白浓度/g·L^-1 Hemoglobin concentration/g·L^-1	155.8±8.1	152.2±6.9	163.0±4.8	169.6±9.9	157.4±1.3	162.4±3.8	154.4±5.6	86.2±6.0^b	131.8±6.5^b	128.4±3.2^b
红细胞压积/% Hematocrit/%	48.44±1.47	48.20±1.42	47.94±1.64	47.28±2.24	47.82±1.42	47.70±0.76	46.54±1.86	27.72±2.03^b	41.66±1.45^b	42.02±1.25^b
平均红细胞体积/fL Mean red blood cell volume/fL	48.4±1.3	47.2±0.8	48.2±1.1	47.4±1.8	48.6±0.8	47.4±1.3	47.9±0.2	60.7±1.4^b	66.7±2.2^b	63.8±2.2^b
平均血红蛋白含量/pg Mean corpuscular hemoglobin/pg	15.6±0.7	16.0±0.6	16.7±0.7	15.6±0.5	15.8±0.4	16.0±0.1	15.8±0.3	19.4±0.4^b	20.6±1.5^b	19.6±0.4^b
平均血红蛋白浓度/g·L^-1 Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration/g·L^-1	336.8±2.8	333.8±6.0	339.0±3.9	336.2±3.1	339.4±5.5	338.4±3.9	332.2±4.8	320.4±3.8^b	315.4±13.2^a	318.4±3.0^b
红细胞分布宽度-变异系数/% Erythrocyte distribution width- coefficient of variation/%	13.1±0.6	12.7±0.3	13.5±0.5	13.1±0.5	13.0±0.3	13.1±0.4	13.3±0.2	31.9±1.3^b	19.3±2.2^b	18.6±2.2^b
红细胞分布宽度-标准差/fL Erythrocyte distribution width-standard deviation/fL	28.0±0.7	26.4±1.3	27.7±1.3	26.5±0.5	26.1±1.5	26.5±1.1	27.5±0.6	84.1±4.0^b	52.8±7.7^b	48.9±5.4^b
白细胞计数/10⁹·L^-1 White blood cell count/10⁹·L^-1	4.10±0.34	3.96±0.34	3.85±0.26	4.05±0.42	4.11±0.56	3.65±0.49	3.87±0.55	6.76±0.87^b	5.65±1.02^a	5.89±0.89^a
淋巴细胞计数/10⁹·L^-1 Lymphocyte count/10⁹·L^-1	2.83±0.42	2.39±0.07	2.87±0.54	3.03±0.39	2.87±0.21	2.56±0.34	2.44±0.36	4.23±0.54^a	3.68±0.76	4.22±0.69^a
单核细胞计数/10⁹·L^-1 Monocyte count/10⁹·L^-1	0.12±0.03	0.12±0.04	0.17±0.05	0.07±0.04	0.16±0.05	0.15±0.05	0.23±0.03^b	0.78±0.20^b	0.40±0.13^b	0.25±0.03^a
单核细胞百分比/% Monocyte percent/%	3.28±0.50	3.60±0.31	3.28±0.40	4.14±0.55	3.88±0.54	3.48±0.71	6.14±1.24^b	9.90±0.87^b	9.10±0.99^b	4.34±0.67
嗜酸粒细胞计数/10⁹·L^-1 Eosinophil count/10⁹·L^-1	0.15±0.05	0.13±0.02	0.16±0.02	0.15±0.02	0.14±0.02	0.18±0.06	0.09±0.03	0.19±0.03	0.18±0.06	0.20±0.04
嗜酸性粒细胞百分比/% Eosinophil percent/%	2.14±0.57	2.06±0.22	2.96±0.40	2.94±0.60	2.46±0.35	2.54±0.44	2.66±0.71	2.92±0.36	4.60±1.13	3.52±1.07
中性粒细胞计数/10⁹·L^-1 Neutrophil count/10⁹·L^-1	0.73±0.24	0.76±0.16	0.78±0.15	1.12±0.20	1.03±0.11	0.92±0.18	1.09±0.26	1.92±0.42^b	1.06±0.42	1.19±0.26
中性粒细胞百分比/% Neutrophil percent/%	22.66±1.85	22.22±2.20	21.20±1.18	23.24±2.20	23.02±1.42	22.7±1.76	28.00±4.33	27.74±2.67^b	22.86±0.79	20.62±2.00

Table 1

References 24

[1]	Madison-Antenucci S, Kramer LD, Gebhardt LL, et al. Emerging tick-borne disease[J]. Clin Microbiol Rev, 2020, 33(2): e00083-18.
[2]	Cai YC, Chen SH, Yan L, et al. Dynamic changes of density of Babesia microti in mice with latent infection after re-infection,immunosuppression, or random transmission to healthy mice[J]. Chin J Parasitol Parasit Dis, 2017, 35(4): 327-332. (in Chinese)
	( 蔡玉春, 陈韶红, 卢艳, 等. 田鼠巴贝虫隐性感染鼠再感染、免疫抑制或盲传后的虫密度消长规律研究[J]. 中国寄生虫学与寄生虫病杂志, 2017, 35(4): 327-332.)
[3]	Schnittger L, Rodriguez AE, Florin-Christensen M, et al. Babesia: a world emerging[J]. Infect Genet Evol, 2012, 12(8): 1788-1809. doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2012.07.004 pmid: 22871652
[4]	Jalovecka M, Sojka D, Ascencio M, et al. Babesia life cycle-when phylogeny meets biology[J]. Trends Parasitol, 2019, 35(5): 356-368. doi: S1471-4922(19)30020-0 pmid: 30733093
[5]	Chen MX, Liu Q, Xue JB, et al. Spreading of human babesiosis in China: current epidemiological status and future challenges[J]. China CDC Wkly, 2020, 2(33): 634-637.
[6]	Sun Y, Liu GP, Yang LW, et al. Babesia microti-like rodent parasites isolated from Ixodes persulcatus (Acari ∶ Ixodidae) in Heilongjiang Province, China[J]. Vet Parasitol, 2008, 156(3/4): 333-339. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2008.05.026
[7]	Wei FR, Lan QX, Zhu D, et al. Investigation on Babesia in ticks infested on police dogs in selected areas of China[J]. Chin J Parasitol Parasit Dis, 2012, 30(5): 390-392. (in Chinese)
	危芙蓉, 兰勤娴, 朱丹, 等. 中国部分地区警犬体表寄生蜱的巴贝虫感染情况调查[J]. 中国寄生虫学与寄生虫病杂志, 2012, 30(5): 390-392.
[8]	Genchi C. Human babesiosis, an emerging zoonosis[J]. Parassitologia, 2007, 49(Suppl 1): 29-31.
[9]	Young KM, Corrin T, Wilhelm B, et al. Zoonotic Babesia: a scoping review of the global evidence[J]. PLoS One, 2019, 14(12): e0226781. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226781
[10]	Zhang Y, Xu AF, Zhang JQ, et al. Differential diagnosis of a case of Babesia microti infection previously misdiagnosed as malaria[J]. Chin J Parasitol Parasit Dis, 2020, 38(4): 445-448. (in Chinese)
	( 张艳, 徐爱芳, 张家祺, 等. 1例误诊为疟疾的田鼠巴贝虫病患者的鉴别诊断[J]. 中国寄生虫学与寄生虫病杂志, 2020, 38(4): 445-448.)
[11]	Li LH, Wang JZ, Zhu D, et al. Detection of novel piroplasmid species and Babesia microti and Theileria orientalis genotypes in hard ticks from Tengchong County, Southwest China[J]. Parasitol Res, 2020, 119(4): 1259-1269. doi: 10.1007/s00436-020-06622-6
[12]	Zhu XP, Su C, Wu ZD, et al. Human parasitology[M]. 8th ed. Beijing: People’s Medical Publishing House, 2018: 80-81. (in Chinese)
	( 诸欣平, 苏川, 吴忠道, 等. 人体寄生虫学[M]. 8版. 北京: 人民卫生出版社, 2018: 80-81.)
[13]	Elsworth B, Duraisingh MT. A framework for signaling throughout the life cycle of Babesia species[J]. Mol Microbiol, 2021, 115(5): 882-890. doi: 10.1111/mmi.14650
[14]	Man SQ, Qiao K, Cui J, et al. A case of human infection with a novel Babesia species in China[J]. Infect Dis Poverty, 2016, 5: 28. doi: 10.1186/s40249-016-0121-1
[15]	Lu Y, Cai YC, Chen SH, et al. Establishment of the experimental animal model of Babesia microti[J]. Chin J Parasitol Parasit Dis, 2012, 30(6): 423-427. (in Chinese)
	( 卢艳, 蔡玉春, 陈韶红, 等. 田鼠巴贝虫实验动物模型的建立[J]. 中国寄生虫学与寄生虫病杂志, 2012, 30(6): 423-427.)
[16]	Cai YC, Chen SH, Yang CL, et al. Dynamics of routine blood tests in BALB/c mice with Babesia microti infection[J]. Chin J Schisto Control, 2018, 30(3): 300-306. (in Chinese)
	( 蔡玉春, 陈韶红, 杨春利, 等. 田鼠巴贝虫感染BALB/c小鼠血细胞动态变化[J]. 中国血吸虫病防治杂志, 2018, 30(3): 300-306. )
[17]	Man SQ, Fu YF, Guan Y, et al. Evaluation of a major surface antigen of Babesia microti merozoites as a vaccine candidate against Babesia infection[J]. Front Microbiol, 2017, 8: 2545. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.02545
[18]	Adachi K, Matsuda T, Makimura S. Failure of killed Corynebacterium parvum in induction of protection in C57BL/6 mice against Babesia rodhaini challenge infection[J]. J Vet Med Sci, 1993, 55(6): 1025-1026. pmid: 8117798
[19]	Akoolo L, Djokic V, Rocha SC, et al. Pathogenesis of Borrelia burgdorferi and Babesia microti in TLR4-competent and TLR4-dysfunctional C3H mice[J]. Cell Microbiol, 2021, 23(9): e13350.
[20]	Djokic V, Akoolo L, Parveen N. Babesia microti infection changes host spleen architecture and is cleared by a Th1 immune response[J]. Front Microbiol, 2018, 9: 85. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00085
[21]	Shultz LD, Schweitzer PA, Christianson SW, et al. Multiple defects in innate and adaptive immunologic function in NOD/LtSz-scid mice[J]. J Immunol, 1995, 154(1): 180-191. pmid: 7995938
[22]	Krogstad DJ, Sutera SP, Boylan CW, et al. Intraerythrocytic parasites and red cell deformability: Plasmodium berghei and Babesia microti[J]. Blood Cells, 1991, 17(1): 209-221. pmid: 2018857
[23]	Yin M, Zhang HB, Tao Y, et al. Evaluation on the in vivo efficacy of malarone and atovaquone-azithromycin combination against Babesia microti in mice under different immune status[J]. Chin J Parasitol Parasit Dis, 2021, 39(5): 659-665, 673. (in Chinese)
	( 殷梦, 张皓冰, 陶奕, 等, 马拉龙和阿托伐醌+阿奇霉素在不同免疫状态小鼠体内的抗田鼠巴贝虫药效评价[J]. 中国寄生虫学与寄生虫病杂志, 2021, 39(5): 659-665, 673.)
[24]	Guilliams M, Mildner A, Yona S. Developmental and functional heterogeneity of monocytes[J]. Immunity, 2018, 49(4): 595-613. doi: S1074-7613(18)30446-1 pmid: 30332628