title: Toxoplasma gondii: Protective immunity induced by a DNA vaccine expressing GRA1 and MIC3 against toxoplasmosis in BALB/c mice.
abstract: The intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii is a major cause of abortion and neonatal loss in livestock, and can cause severe illness to human with weakened immune system. The heavy incidence and severe consequence indicate the development of vaccines against T. gondii is required. In this study, DNA vaccines encoding GRA1 and MIC3 antigens were developed. The parasite-specific immune responses and protection efficiency against toxoplasmosis by these DNA vaccines were evaluated in BALB/c mice. The results demonstrated that the IgG antibody production was significantly increased in multi-antigenic vaccine encoding GRA1 and MIC3 immunized group, as well as the IFN-γ level, when compared with single-gene vaccines and controls groups (p < 0.05). Two weeks after the final vaccination, the mice were challenged with either 1 × 10(4) or 1 × 10(2) RH strain tachyzoites, and the mortality and parasite reduction were observed. The multi-antigenic vaccine encoding GRA1 and MIC3 lead to the longest survival time as well as the less parasite-loads in brain and liver of immunized mice (p < 0.01). The present study indicates that the GRA1 and MIC3 showed the potential as target for vaccine investigation against toxoplasmosis. And the immune efficacy induced by multi-antigenic vaccine encoding GRA1 and MIC3 was better than that induced by single-antigenic vaccines alone.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province 130062, PR China.
authors.forename: Pengtao
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Jilin Academy of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Changchun, Jilin Province 130062, PR China.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Jilin Academy of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Changchun, Jilin Province 130062, PR China.
authors.forename: Yanbing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Jilin Academy of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Changchun, Jilin Province 130062, PR China.
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Jilin Academy of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Changchun, Jilin Province 130062, PR China.
authors.forename: Shuxian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Jilin Academy of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Changchun, Jilin Province 130062, PR China. Electronic address: jlyxh168@163.com.
authors.forename: Xinhua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province 130062, PR China.
authors.forename: Wenzhi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: College of Agricultural, Yanbian University, Yanji, Jilin Province 133002, PR China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Jilin Academy of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Changchun, Jilin Province 130062, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhilin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Jilin Academy of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Changchun, Jilin Province 130062, PR China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province 130062, PR China. Electronic address: xczhang@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xichen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000097:blood; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000469:parasitology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D015870:Gene Expression; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000097:blood; D008099:Liver / Q000469:parasitology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D016052:Protozoan Vaccines / Q000276:immunology; D011897:Random Allocation; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology*; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019444:Vaccines, DNA / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D016207:Cytokines; C412913:GRA1 antigen; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; C421382:MIC3 protein, Toxoplasma gondii; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D016052:Protozoan Vaccines; D019444:Vaccines, DNA
keywords: DNA vaccine; GRA1; Immune response; MIC3; Toxoplasma gondii