Chai Jong-Yil, Lin Aifen, Shin Eun-Hee, Oh Myoung-Don, Han Eun-Taek, Nan Ho-Woo, Lee Soon-Hyung
Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, and Institute of Endemic Diseases, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul 110-799, Korea.
Korean J Parasitol. 2003 Sep;41(3):147-54. doi: 10.3347/kjp.2003.41.3.147.
Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites were isolated from the blood of an ocular patient, and have been successfully passaged in the laboratory, for over a year, by peritoneal inoculation in mice. The isolated parasite was designated the Korean Isolate-1 (KI-1) and its characteristics were compared with those of the RH strain, a wellknown virulent strain originating from a child who suffered from encephalitis. The morphology, pathogenicity, infectivity and cell culture characteristics of the KI-1 were similar to those of the RH strain. Both RH and KI-1 antigens were detected by an anti-T. gondii monoclonal antibody (mAb), Tg563, against the major surface protein SAG1 (30 kDa), whereas no reaction was observed against an anti-Neospora caninum mAb, 12B4. The KI-1 was confirmed as an isolate of T. gondii. A long-term laboratory maintenance and characterization of a local T. gondii isolate is reported for the first time in the Republic of Korea.