title: Investigation of the protective properties of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-based vaccine candidates in a Toxoplasma gondii mouse challenge model.
abstract: Vaccination against the ubiquitous parasite Toxoplasma gondii would provide the most efficient prevention against toxoplasmosis-related congenital, brain and eye diseases in humans. We investigated the immune response elicited by pathogen-specific glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) glycoconjugates using carbohydrate microarrays in a BALB/c mouse model. We further examined the protective properties of the glycoconjugates in a lethal challenge model using the virulent T. gondii RH strain. Upon immunization, mice raised antibodies that bind to the respective GPIs on carbohydrate microarrays, but were mainly directed against an unspecific GPI epitope including the linker. The observed immune response, though robust, was unable to provide protection in mice when challenged with a lethal dose of viable tachyzoites. We demonstrate that anti-GPI antibodies raised against the here described semi-synthetic glycoconjugates do not confer protective immunity against T. gondii in BALB/c mice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14424 Potsdam, Germany Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Free University of Berlin, Arnimallee 22, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Götze
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14424 Potsdam, Germany Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Free University of Berlin, Arnimallee 22, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Anika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reinhardt
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14424 Potsdam, Germany Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Free University of Berlin, Arnimallee 22, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Geissner
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14424 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Nahid
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Azzouz
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14424 Potsdam, Germany Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Free University of Berlin, Arnimallee 22, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Yu-Hsuan
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14424 Potsdam, Germany Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Free University of Berlin, Arnimallee 22, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Reka
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kurucz
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14424 Potsdam, Germany Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Free University of Berlin, Arnimallee 22, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Varón Silva
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14424 Potsdam, Germany Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Free University of Berlin, Arnimallee 22, 14195 Berlin, Germany peter.seeberger@mpikg.mpg.de.
authors.forename: Peter H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Seeberger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology*; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D017261:Glycosylphosphatidylinositols / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D016052:Protozoan Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000939:Epitopes; D017261:Glycosylphosphatidylinositols; D016052:Protozoan Vaccines
keywords: carbohydrate microarrays; glycoimmunology; glycosylphosphatidylinositol; toxoplasmosis; vaccine