AUTHOR=Zhou Mo , Xie Jun , Kawase Osamu , Nishikawa Yoshifumi , Ji Shengwei , Zhu Shanyuan , Cao Shinuo , Xuan Xuenan 

TITLE=Characterization of anti-erythrocyte and anti-platelet antibodies in hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia induced by Plasmodium spp. and Babesiaspp. infection in mice

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2023.1143138

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2023.1143138

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>Malaria and Babesiosis are acute zoonotic disease that caused by infection with the parasite in the phylum Apicomplexa. Severe anemia and thrombocytopenia are the most common hematological complication of malaria and babesiosis. However, the mechanisms involved have not been elucidated, and only a few researches focus on the possible role of anti-erythrocyte and anti-platelet antibodies.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>In this study, the <italic>Plasmodium yoelii, P. chabaudi, Babesia microti</italic> and <italic>B. rodhaini</italic> infected SCID and ICR mice. The parasitemia, survival rate, platelet count, anti-platelet antibodies, and the level of IFN-γ and interleukin (IL) -10 was tested after infection. Furthermore, the <italic>P. yoelii, P. chabaudi, B. rodhaini</italic> and <italic>B. microti</italic> infected ICR mice were treated with artesunate and diminaze, the development of the anti-erythrocyte and anti-platelet antibodies in chronic stage were examined. At last, the murine red blood cell and platelet membrane proteins probed with auto-antibodies induced by <italic>P. yoelii, P. chabaudi, B. rodhaini</italic>, and <italic>B. microti</italic> infection were characterized by proteomic analysis.</p></sec><sec><title>Results and discussion</title><p>The high anti-platelet and anti-erythrocyte antibodies were detected in ICR mice after <italic>P. yoelii, P. chabaudi, B. rodhaini, and B. microti infection</italic>. Actin of murine erythrocyte and platelet is a common auto-antigen in <italic>Plasmodium</italic> and <italic>Babesia</italic> spp. infected mice. Our findings indicate that anti-erythrocyte and anti-platelet autoantibodies contribute to thrombocytopenia and anemia associated with <italic>Plasmodium</italic> spp. and <italic>Babesia</italic> spp. infection. This study will help to understand the mechanisms of malaria and babesiosis-related thrombocytopenia and hemolytic anemia.</p></sec>