Experimental Infection of Mice and Ticks with the Human Isolate of Anaplasma phagocytophilum NY-18
1
Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 1160/31, 37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
2
Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1645/31a, 37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
3
Bioptická Laboratoř, s.r.o., Mikulášské nám. 4, 32600 Plzeň, Czech Republic
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Maria Kazimirova, Sara Moutailler and Libor Grubhoffer
Pathogens 2022, 11(7), 820; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11070820
Received: 28 June 2022
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Revised: 15 July 2022
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Accepted: 19 July 2022
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Published: 21 July 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ixodes ricinus and Disease Transmission)
Anaplasma phagocytophilum is the causative agent of tick-borne fever (TBF) and human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) and is currently considered an emerging disease in the USA, Europe, and Asia. The increased prevalence of A. phagocytophilum as a human pathogen requires the detailed characterization of human isolates and the implementation of appropriate animal models. In this study, we demonstrated that the dynamics of infection with the human isolate of A. phagocytophilum NY-18 was variable in three different strains of mice (SCID, C3H/HeN, BALB/c). We further evaluated the ability of Ixodes ricinus to acquire and transmit A. phagocytophilum NY-18 and compared it with Ixodes scapularis. Larvae of both tick species effectively acquired the pathogen while feeding on infected mice. The infection rates then decreased during the development to nymphs. Interestingly, molted I. ricinus nymphs were unable to transmit the pathogen to naïve mice, which contrasted with I. scapularis. The results of our study suggest that I. ricinus is not a competent vector for the American human Anaplasma isolate. Further studies are needed to establish reliable transmission models for I. ricinus and European human isolate(s) of A. phagocytophilum.
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Keywords:
Anaplasma phagocytophilum; tick; Ixodes ricinus; Ixodes scapularis; transmission; vector competence; animal model; human granulocytic anaplasmosis
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MDPI and ACS Style
Urbanová, V.; Kalinová, E.; Kopáček, P.; Šíma, R. Experimental Infection of Mice and Ticks with the Human Isolate of Anaplasma phagocytophilum NY-18. Pathogens 2022, 11, 820. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11070820
AMA Style
Urbanová V, Kalinová E, Kopáček P, Šíma R. Experimental Infection of Mice and Ticks with the Human Isolate of Anaplasma phagocytophilum NY-18. Pathogens. 2022; 11(7):820. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11070820
Chicago/Turabian StyleUrbanová, Veronika, Eliška Kalinová, Petr Kopáček, and Radek Šíma. 2022. "Experimental Infection of Mice and Ticks with the Human Isolate of Anaplasma phagocytophilum NY-18" Pathogens 11, no. 7: 820. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11070820
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