Immune response and protective efficacy against homologous challenge in BALB/c mice vaccinated with DNA vaccine

Vet Parasitol. 2011 Mar 12. [Epub ahead of print]

Immune response and protective efficacy against homologous challenge in BALB/c mice vaccinated with DNA vaccine encoding Toxoplasma gondii actin depolymerizing factor gene

Li J, Huang X, Zhang G, Gong P, Zhang X, Wu L.

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

Abstract
A DNA vaccine (pVAX1-TgADF) encoding Toxoplasma gondii actin depolymerizing factor (ADF) gene was constructed and the immune response and protective efficacy of this vaccine against homologous challenge in BALB/c mice were evaluated. High titers of specific antibody and increases in the percentage of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T lymphocyte cells were observed from BALB/c mice vaccinated with pVAX1-TgADF (P<0.05), when PBS group was used as control. The survival time of BALB/c mice in pVAX1-TgADF group was longer than those in control groups. The numbers of brain cysts in the experimental BALB/c mice immunized with pVAX1-TgADF reduced significantly compared with those in PBS group (P<0.05), and the rate of reduction could reach to around 42.8%. These results suggested that the DNA vaccine pVAX1-TgADF could generate specific humoral and cellular immune responses, prolong survival times, and reduce brain cysts load against T. gondii infection in BALB/c mice.

Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
PMID: 21489695 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]