title: Toxoplasma gondii microneme protein 8 (MIC8) is a potential vaccine candidate against toxoplasmosis.
abstract: Microneme protein 8 (MIC8) is considered a new essential invasion factor in Toxoplasma gondii. In the present study, a deoxyribonucleic acid vaccine expressing MIC8 of T. gondii was constructed and the immune response it induced in Kunming mice was evaluated. The gene sequence encoding MIC8 was inserted into the eukaryotic expression vector pVAX I, and the pVAX-MIC8 expression plasmid was constructed, and the plasmid diluted with PBS to 100 mg/100 microl was injected into the Kunming mice muscularly. Levels of IgG antibody, gamma-interferon (IFN-gamma), interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-4, and interleukin-10 were detected. The mice were challenged with tachyzoites of the virulent T. gondii RH strain at the 14th day after the last immunization to observe the survival time. The high level of IFN-gamma, IL-2, and IgG antibody indicated that mice vaccinated with recombinant pVAX-MIC8 plasmid could elicit strong cellular and humoral immune responses and showed a significantly increased survival time (10.3 +/- 0.9 days) compared with control mice which died within 5 days of challenge infection. These data demonstrate that the T. gondii MIC8 is a potential vaccine candidate against toxoplasmosis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, 483 Wushan Street, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510642, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Z G
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: X H
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: R Q
authors.initials: RQ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: H Q
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: X Q
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000378:metabolism; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D010957:Plasmids; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D016052:Protozoan Vaccines / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019444:Vaccines, DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007376:Interleukin-2; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D016052:Protozoan Vaccines; D019444:Vaccines, DNA; D037521:Virulence Factors; C530346:microneme protein 8, Toxoplasma gondii; D015847:Interleukin-4; D007371:Interferon-gamma