Protective effect of a DNA vaccine cocktail encoding ROP13 and GRA14 with Alum nano-adjuvant against Toxoplasma gondii infection in mice

Abdol Sattar Pagheh, Ahmad Daryani, Paria Alizadeh, Hadi Hassannia, Sonia M. Rodrigues Oliveira, Tohid Kazemi, Fatemeh Rezaei, Maria de Lourdes Pereira, Ehsan Ahmadpour*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that can cause serious public health problems. The development of a safe and effective vaccine against T. gondii is urgently needed to prevent and control the spread of toxoplasmosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the immune responses induced by a pcGRA14 + pcROP13 vaccine cocktail in BALB/c mice. All groups were immunized intramuscularly three times at two-week intervals. The production of anti-Toxoplasma gondii lysate antigen (TLA) antibodies, lymphocyte proliferation, serum levels of IFN-γ and IL-4 cytokines and the survival time were monitored after vaccination and challenged with the virulent RH strain of T. gondii. The results showed that immunization with the pcGRA14 + pcROP13 DNA vaccine significantly increased the production of specific IgG antibodies and cytokines against toxoplasmosis. Interestingly, high levels of IgG2a and IFN-γ were found in animals vaccinated with DNA vaccine cocktail. Furthermore, immunized mice challenged with the RH strain of T. gondii showed prolonged survival time when compared to control groups (P <0.05). The present study demonstrates the potential of a DNA cocktail vaccine expressing pcGRA14 and pcROP13 in developing specific immune responses and providing effective protection against T. gondii infection.
Original languageEnglish
Article number105920
Number of pages10
JournalInternational Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Volume132
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • DNA vaccine
  • GRA14
  • Protective immunity
  • ROP13
  • Toxoplasma gondii

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