title: The dense granule protein GRA2, a new marker for the serodiagnosis of acute Toxoplasma infection: comparison of sera collected in both France and Iran from pregnant women.
abstract: GRA2 is a highly immunogenic protein secreted from the dense granules of Toxoplasma gondii. Recent success in purifying full-length, soluble GRA2 from bacteria as a thioredoxin (TRX)-(Hisx6) fusion protein led to investigate the antigenicity of the recombinant protein against human sera. On immunoblots, TRX-(Hisx6)-GRA2 was recognized by sera collected in Iran from T. gondii-infected pregnant women. An IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed to evaluate the reactivity of sera, collected from pregnant women both in France and Iran, to the TRX-(Hisx6)-GRA2 fusion protein. Specificity of the test was 96.4%. Sensitivity of the GRA2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ranged from 95.8% (sera collected in France) to 100% (sera collected in Iran) for sera of acute infection and from 65.7% (sera collected in France) to 71.4% (sera collected in Iran) for sera of chronic infection. The recombinant GRA2 could thus advantageously complement previously described T. gondii antigens for the serodiagnosis of acute Toxoplasma infection.
authors.affiliation: CNRS UMR 5163, UFR de Biologie, Institut Jean Roget, Université Joseph Fourier, Campus Santé, Domaine de la Merci, and Parasitology and Mycology Laboratory, Grenoble Teaching Hospital A. Michallon, Grenoble cedex 09, France.
authors.forename: Majid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Golkar
authors.forename: Sima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rafati
authors.forename: Mohamed S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Abdel-Latif
authors.forename: Marie-Pierre
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Brenier-Pinchart
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fricker-Hidalgo
authors.forename: Baharak Khoshkholgh
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Sima
authors.forename: Jalal
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Babaie
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pelloux
authors.forename: Marie-France
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Cesbron-Delauw
authors.forename: Corinne
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mercier
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods*; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007492:Iran; D037841:Pregnant People; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000379:methods; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; C106990:Gra2 protein, Toxoplasma gondii; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins