title: Serodiagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii infection in cats by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using recombinant SAG1.
abstract: The gene encoding surface antigen 1 (SAG1, P30) of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) was cloned into the plasmid pGEX-4T-3 and subsequently expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli) as a glutathione-S-transferase (GST) fusion protein. The recombinant SAG1 (rSAG1) was refolded using 8M urea solution followed by dialysis and thereafter evaluated in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for serological diagnosis of toxoplasmosis. The test sera were adsorbed with GST to block non-specific reactivity to the GST-SAG1 fusion protein. The ELISA with rSAG1 was able to differentiate very clearly between sera from cats or mice experimentally infected with T. gondii and sera from normal cats or mice. The ELISA detected no cross-reactivity with sera from mice experimentally infected with the closely related parasite Neospora caninum (N. caninum). Some 193 cat sera were tested for antibodies to T. gondii, out of which 40 (20.7%) reacted positively by ELISA with the rSAG1 while another 79.3% cats reacted negative to the assay. Both positive and negative sera were confirmed by Western blot analysis. The results of ELISA were in agreement with those of a commercially available latex agglutination test (LAT) kit, although the former had higher titers than the latter.
authors.affiliation: National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: E N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Kimbita
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xuan
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyazawa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukumoto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mishima
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagasawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujisaki
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mikami
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Igarashi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D015153:Blotting, Western / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D002415:Cats; D003429:Cross Reactions; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D007841:Latex Fixation Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D000954:Antigens, Surface; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; C047168:SAG1 antigen, Toxoplasma