Department of Health Inspection and Quarantine, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, the Provincial Laboratory of Pathogen Biology of Anhui, and the Key Laboratory of Zoonoses of Anhui, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
Parasite Immunol. 2024 Feb;46(2):e13023. doi: 10.1111/pim.13023.
Toxoplasmosis is one of the most dangerous zoonotic diseases, causing serious economic losses worldwide due to abortion and reproductive problems. Vaccination is the best way to prevent disease; thus, it is imperative to develop a candidate vaccine for toxoplasmosis. BAG1 and ROP8 have the potential to become vaccine candidates. In this study, rTgBAG1, rTgROP8, and rTgBAG1-rTgROP8 were used to evaluate the immune effect of vaccines in each group by detecting the humoral and cellular immune response levels of BABL/c mice after immunization and the ability to resist acute and chronic infection with Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii). We divided the mice into vaccine groups with different proteins, and the mice were immunized on days 0, 14, and 28. The protective effects of different proteins against T. gondii were analysed by measuring the cytokines, serum antibodies, splenocyte proliferation assay results, survival time, and number and diameter of brain cysts of mice after infection. The vaccine groups exhibited substantially higher IgG, IgG1, and IgG2a levels and effectively stimulated lymphocyte proliferation. The levels of IFN-γ and IL-2 in the vaccine group were significantly increased. The survival time of the mice in each vaccine group was prolonged and the diameter of the cysts in the vaccine group was smaller; rTgBAG1-rTgROP8 had a better protection. Our study showed that the rTgBAG1, rTgROP8, and rTgBAG1-rTgROP8 recombinant protein vaccines are partial but effective approaches against acute or chronic T. gondii infection. They are potential candidates for a toxoplasmosis vaccine.
弓形虫病是最危险的人畜共患病之一，由于流产和生殖问题，在世界范围内造成了严重的经济损失。疫苗接种是预防疾病的最佳方法；因此，开发弓形虫病候选疫苗迫在眉睫。BAG1 和 ROP8 有成为疫苗候选物的潜力。在这项研究中，使用 rTgBAG1、rTgROP8 和 rTgBAG1-rTgROP8 通过检测免疫后 BABL/c 小鼠的体液和细胞免疫反应水平以及抵抗急性和慢性弓形虫（Toxoplasma gondii，T. gondii）感染的能力，来评估疫苗在各组中的免疫效果。我们将小鼠分为不同蛋白的疫苗组，在第 0、14 和 28 天对小鼠进行免疫。通过测量感染后小鼠的细胞因子、血清抗体、脾细胞增殖试验结果、存活时间以及脑囊虫的数量和直径，分析不同蛋白对 T. gondii 的保护作用。疫苗组 IgG、IgG1 和 IgG2a 水平显著升高，有效地刺激了淋巴细胞增殖。疫苗组 IFN-γ 和 IL-2 水平显著增加。每个疫苗组的小鼠存活时间延长，疫苗组的囊虫直径较小；rTgBAG1-rTgROP8 具有更好的保护作用。我们的研究表明，rTgBAG1、rTgROP8 和 rTgBAG1-rTgROP8 重组蛋白疫苗对急性或慢性 T. gondii 感染具有部分但有效的作用。它们是弓形虫病疫苗的潜在候选物。
