Toxoplasma gondii: Protective immunity against toxoplasmosis with recombinant actin depolymerizing factor protein in BALB/c mice

Exp Parasitol. 2012 Jan 10. [Epub ahead of print]

Toxoplasma gondii: Protective immunity against toxoplasmosis with recombinant actin depolymerizing factor protein in BALB/c mice.

Huang X, Li J, Zhang G, Gong P, Yang J, Zhang X.

Source
College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, 5333 Xi'an Road, Changchun 130062, China.

Abstract
Toxoplasmosis is one of the most world-wide spread zoonosis representing a very serious clinical and veterinary problem. There is still need for vaccines for toxoplasmosis. In the present study, we evaluated the protective efficacy of a recombinant actin depolymerizing factor (ADF) subunit vaccine against Toxoplasma gondii infection in BALB/c mice. The recombinant T. gondii ADF protein (rADF) was expressed in Escherichia coli and used as antigens for BALB/c mice immunization. The results indicated that specific antibody and the increased percentage of CD4(+) T lymphocyte were found in vaccinated BALB/c mice with rADF, when compared with adjuvant or PBS groups. After challenged with T. gondii (RH strain) tachyzoites, the survival time of the mice in rADF group was longer than those in the control group. The numbers of brain cysts of the mice in rADF group reduced significantly when compared with those in control groups (P<0.05), and the rate of reduction could reach to around 30%. These results suggest that rADF can generate protective immunity against T. gondii infection in BALB/c mice.

Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Inc.

PMID: 22248986 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]