title: Protective immunity against acute toxoplasmosis in BALB/c mice induced by a DNA vaccine encoding Toxoplasma gondii 10 kDa excretory-secretory antigen (TgESA10).
abstract: Toxoplasma gondii 10 kDa excretory-secretory antigen (TgESA10) is involved in the early stages of host invasion. The aim of this study was to evaluate the immune protective efficacy of a DNA vaccine encoding TgESA10 gene against acute T. gondii infection in mice. The gene sequence encoding TgESA10 was inserted into the eukaryotic expression vector pVAX I, and the efficacy of intramuscular vaccination of BALB/c mice with pVAX-ESA10 was analyzed. Mice immunized with pVAX-ESA10 elicited high titers of total IgG, IgG1, IgG2a, IgA and IgM antibodies, while IgE showed no changes. Analysis of cytokine profiles revealed significant increases of IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-17, while no significant changes were detected in TGF-β1. Additionally, we found that pVAX-ESA10 enhanced the activation of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells and the expression of MHC-I and MHC-II molecules in spleen in mice. Immunization with pVAX-ESA10 significantly prolonged survival time (14.3 ± 1.7 days) after challenge infection with the virulent T. gondii RH strain, compared with the control groups which died within 8 days. These results suggested that TgESA10 DNA vaccine could trigger strong humoral and cellular responses and induce partial protection against acute toxoplasmosis.
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, PR China.
authors.forename: Shuai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, PR China.
authors.forename: Yujian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaoni
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhenchao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, PR China.
authors.forename: Tingqi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, PR China.
authors.forename: Javaid Ali
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Gadahi
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, PR China.
authors.forename: Lixin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, PR China.
authors.forename: Ruofeng
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaokai
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, PR China. Electronic address: lixiangrui@njau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiangrui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology*; D006224:Cricetinae; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000276:immunology; D008285:Major Histocompatibility Complex; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D016052:Protozoan Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D011897:Random Allocation; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019444:Vaccines, DNA
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D016207:Cytokines; D016052:Protozoan Vaccines; D019444:Vaccines, DNA; C408624:excretory-secretory antigen, Toxoplasma
keywords: 10kDa excretory–secretory antigen; DNA vaccine; Protective immunity; Toxoplasma gondii