Identification, cloning and characterization of BmP41, a common antigenic protein of Babesia microti

Babesia microti is a rodent tick-borne blood parasite and the major causative agent of emerging human babesiosis. Here, we identified a candidate of common antigenic protein BmP41 of B. microti by serological screening of cDNA library of human-pathogenic Gray strain with antisera against rodent Munich strain. Immunofluorescent antibody test using mouse anti-recombinant BmP41 (rBmP41) serum revealed that native BmP41 was expressed in each of the developmental stages of B. microti merozoites. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using rBmP41 detected specific antibodies in sera from hamsters infected with B. microti Gray strain and mice infected with B. microti Munich strain. Taken together, BmP41 could be a promising universal serological marker for diagnosis of human babesiosis.