title: Identifying Novel B Cell Epitopes within Toxoplasma gondii GRA6.
abstract: The study of antigenic epitopes from Toxoplasma gondii has not only enhanced our understanding of the structure and function of antigens, the reactions between antigens and antibodies, and many other aspects of immunology, but it also plays a significant role in the development of new diagnostic reagents and vaccines. In the present study, T. gondii GRA6 epitopes were identified using bioinformatics tools and a synthetic peptide technique. The potential B cell epitopes of GRA6 predicted by bioinformatics tools concentrated upon 3 regions of GRA6, 1-20 aa, 44-103 aa, and 172-221 aa. Ten shorter peptides from the 3 regions were synthesized and assessed by ELISA using pig sera from different time points after infection. Three of the 10 peptides (amino acids 44-63, 172-191, and 192-211) tested were recognized by all sera and determined to be immunodominant B-cell epitopes of GRA6. The results indicated that we precisely and accurately located the T. gondii GRA6 epitopes using pig sera collected at different time points after infection. The identified epitopes may be very useful for further studies of epitope-based vaccines and diagnostic reagents.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730046, China.
authors.forename: Yanhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730046, China.
authors.forename: Guangxiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730046, China.
authors.forename: Jian Ping
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Cai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology*; D019295:Computational Biology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D018604:Epitope Mapping; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D013552:Swine; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte; C095047:GRA6 protein, Toxoplasma gondii; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes; D015800:Protozoan Proteins
keywords: GRA6; Toxoplasma gondii; epitope; pig antibody