{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,10]],"date-time":"2026-06-10T14:28:52Z","timestamp":1781101732120,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"National Academy of Sciences","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,2]],"date-time":"2026-02-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769990400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000057","name":"HHS | NIH | National Institute of General Medical Sciences","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["7DP2GM149553-02"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["7DP2GM149553-02"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000057","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100023581","name":"NSF | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["DGE2140739"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DGE2140739"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100023581","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.pnas.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,17]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Babesia microti<\/jats:italic>\n                    is an intraerythrocytic protozoan parasite and the main causative agent of human babesiosis in the United States. While extensive research has focused on the prevalence of this vector-borne pathogen in natural populations, increases of human cases and clinical manifestation, and pathogen structure, little is known about the movements of\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">B. microti<\/jats:italic>\n                    within vertebrate red blood cells (RBCs). RBCs are nonmotile due to their lack of cellular structures for active movement. Here, we report a phenomenon in which\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">B. microti<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2013infected RBCs exhibit an acquired motility compared to uninfected RBCs. Using live-cell tracking, we observed a subset (around 1% in whole blood and 10% in 1:100 diluted blood) of infected RBCs displayed active movement. This acquired motility suggests that\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">B. microti<\/jats:italic>\n                    may induce host cell modifications that facilitate its survival, dissemination, or immune evasion potential, allowing it to successfully move through the blood and infect new RBCs. Our findings highlight unconventional RBC dynamics and a potential broad aspect of\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">B. microti<\/jats:italic>\n                    pathogenesis. Further investigation into the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon could provide insights into parasite\u2013host interactions and reveal targets for therapeutic intervention in treatment and\/or prevention of babesiosis.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2509776123","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,2]],"date-time":"2026-02-02T20:08:41Z","timestamp":1770062921000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.cm10313","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Acquired motility of\n                    <i>Babesia microti<\/i>\n                    \u2013infected red blood cells"],"prefix":"10.1073","volume":"123","author":[{"given":"Chao","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University","place":["Pittsburgh"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-1615-8439","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amy L.","family":"Apgar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University","place":["Pittsburgh"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8084-7556","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Danielle M.","family":"Tufts","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh","place":["Pittsburgh"]},{"name":"Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria","place":["Pretoria, South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3018-5419","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tagbo H. R.","family":"Niepa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University","place":["Pittsburgh"]},{"name":"Department of Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University","place":["Pittsburgh"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"341","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_4_1_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/MOH.0000000000000606"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.idc.2015.02.008"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajt.2023.03.013"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s15010-013-0526-8"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1128\/jcm.01268-22"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/QCO.0000000000001038"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/infdis\/jiaa595"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3201\/eid1808.110988"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/jpids\/pix074"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_10_2","first-page":"9869323","article-title":"A case of babesiosis in a pregnant patient treated with red blood cell exchange transfusion","volume":"2019","author":"Abittan B.","year":"2019","unstructured":"B. Abittan , A case of babesiosis in a pregnant patient treated with red blood cell exchange transfusion. Case Rep. Obstet. Gynecol. 2019, 9869323 (2019).","journal-title":"Case Rep. Obstet. Gynecol."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens10111447"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_12_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.meegid.2012.07.004"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.ppat.1010770"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.26508\/lsa.201900382"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_15_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.molbiopara.2023.111576"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_16_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens10111384"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0035227"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_18_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1128\/JCM.00504-17"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_19_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2021.697669"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_20_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-018-32349-7"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_21_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2018.00085"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_22_2","unstructured":"A. J. Zimmer K. A. Simonsen Babesiosis (StatPearls Publishing Treasure Island FL 2023)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_23_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1128\/IAI.01560-05"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_24_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijpara.2018.10.003"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_25_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijpara.2018.08.004"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_26_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2022.1004875"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_27_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/smtd.202400373"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_28_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1002\/advs.202508185","article-title":"In vitro monitoring of babesia microti infection dynamics in whole blood microenvironments","volume":"12","author":"Li C.","year":"2025","unstructured":"C. Li, E. G. Bache, A. L. Apgar, D. M. Tufts, T. H. R. Niepa, In vitro monitoring of babesia microti infection dynamics in whole blood microenvironments. Adv. Sci. (Weinh) 12, e08185 (2025).","journal-title":"Adv. Sci. 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