Toxoplasmosis: the need for improved diagnostic techniques and accurate risk assessment

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in southern districts of Tamil Nadu using IgG-ELISA

The present study was conducted to assess the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in and around Tirunelveli by in-house IgG assay using ELISA. Serum samples from 175 immunodeficient and 175 immunocompetent patients were collected at Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu from May 2006 to October 2007. They were subjected into in-house IgG assay using enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) in which tachyzoite soluble antigen derived from solubilised whole organisms was used. Out of 350 patients tested by IgG ELISA, 46 patients (13.14%) had antibodies for toxoplasmosis with mean OD value of 0.2 ± 0.073 and the OD value ranged from 0.144 to 0.444. Among the immunocompetent group of 175 patients, 19 patients (10.86%) had antibodies to toxoplasmosis whereas, in immunodeficient group of 175 patients, 27 patients (15.43%) had antibodies for toxoplasmosis. There was no statistical difference (P > 0.05) between the immunocompetent and immunodeficient group. The sensitivity and specificity of IgG ELISA in detecting toxoplasmosis was 90 and 100%, respectively. The overall seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in and around Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu was 13.14% based on IgG ELISA. The study has proved ELISA to be a sensitive and specific procedure for the serodiagnosis of toxoplasmosis.

Reduction of Foxp3+ cells by depletion with the PC61 mAb induces mortality in resistant BALB/c mice infected with Toxoplasma gondii

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are CD4⁺Foxp3⁺ cells that modulate autoimmune responses. Tregs have been shown to be also involved during the immune response against infectious agents. The aim of this work is to study the role of Tregs during the infection with the intracellular protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. Resistant BALB/c mice were injected with 200 μg of anti-CD25 mAb (clone PC61) and 2 days later they were infected with 20 cysts of the ME49 strain of T. gondii. We observed that depleted mice showed 50–60% mortality during the acute infection. When FACS analysis was carried out, we observed that although injection of PC61 mAb eliminated 50% of Tregs, infected-depleted mice showed a similar percentage of CD25⁺Foxp3⁻ (activated T cells, Tact) to those observed in infected nondepleted animals, demonstrating that in our depletion/infection system, injection of PC61 mAb did not hamper T cell activation while percentage of Tregs was reduced by 75% 10 days post infection. We concluded that Tregs are essential during protection in the acute phase of T. gondii infection.

CpG-containing ODN has a limited role in the protection against Toxoplasma gondii

Bacterial DNA containing immunostimulatory motifs (CpG) induces the development of a T(H1) immune response. Since protection against Toxoplasma gondii is correlated with this type of response, the aim of this work was to determine if a synthetic oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) containing CpG sequences could be useful as adjuvant for the induction of a long-lasting protective immune response against T. gondii. BALB/c mice immunized with a total soluble antigen of T. gondii (TSA2) mixed with ODN-containing CpG sequences developed a typical TH1 response, as determined by antibody isotypes and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) production by spleen cells. However, they did not resist a challenge with the virulent RH strain of the parasite. Absence of protection paralleled with lower levels of IFN-gamma, when compared with mice vaccinated with the live tachyzoites of the attenuated ts.4 strain of the parasite, which resisted this challenge. Intraperitoneal injection of ODN alone to mice induced a high degree of resistance to a lethal challenge inoculated by the same route. Nevertheless, this nonspecific protection was transient. Thus, the use of ODN containing CpG motifs as adjuvant is of limited value for the induction of a protective immune response against T. gondii.

Cloning, expression, and characterization of iron-containing superoxide dismutase from Neospora caninum

A gene encoding superoxide dismutase (SOD) from Neospora caninum, a causative agent of neosporosis, has been cloned and its gene product functionally expressed and characterized. The gene had an open reading frame of 606 bp and deduced 201 amino acids. Sequence analysis showed that the gene had conserved metal-binding residues and conserved amino acid residues that were found in Fe-SODs. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of the enzyme with previously reported Fe-SOD amino acid sequences of the other parasitic protozoans revealed significant high homology. The coding region of the N. caninum Fe-SOD was cloned and functionally expressed in Escherichia coli. Enzyme activity of the expressed protein was inhibited by hydrogen peroxide but not by sodium azide and potassium cyanide, and the enzyme showed similar biochemical properties with typical Fe-SODs of other parasitic protozoans. Southern blot analysis showed that the SOD gene appears to be present as a single-copy gene in N. caninum genome. Semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunoblot using antiserum raised against the purified recombinant protein showed that Fe-SOD is expressed in both developmental stages of N. caninum, i.e., in bradyzoites and tachyzoites. In an immunofluorescence assay, the enzyme was localized on the cell surface of N. caninum tachyzoites. These results suggest that Fe-SOD might be essential for the intracellular survival of N. caninum and may play an important role in the pathogenesis of the parasite by protecting the parasite from oxidative killing.

Characterization of Toxoplasma gondii SAG2 expressed in insect cells by recombinant baculovirus and evaluation of its diagnostic potential in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

A baculovirus carrying the SAG2 gene of Toxoplasma gondii was constructed, and recombinant SAG2 protein (S-rSAG2) was expressed in insect cells. S-rSAG2 was recognized by sera from cats and pigs infected with T. gondii. Mice immunized with S-rSAG2 produced high titers of specific immunoglobulin G2a (IgG2a) and IgG1 antibodies. In an indirect fluorescent antibody test, all mouse antisera against S-rSAG2 reacted strongly to the natural parasites, but those against rSAG2 expressed in Escherichia coli (E-rSAG2) only showed very weak reaction, although no markedly difference was found in the reaction to denatured antigen, T. gondii lysate, in Western blot analysis. The results suggest that S-rSAG2 is better than E-rSAG2 in both antigenicity and immunogenicity. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with S-rSAG2 could differentiate clearly between sera from 30 specific-pathogen-free cats and 4 experimentally infected cats. Serum samples from domestic cats in Japan were tested by the ELISA and compared with a latex agglutination test (LAT) and ELISA with E-rSAG2. Of 187 samples, all 35 LAT-positive sera had strong reactions to S-rSAG2 and E-rSAG2. Of the 152 LAT-negative sera, 18 were positive in the ELISA with S-rSAG2, whereas only 2 were positive in the ELISA with E-rSAG2. Although there were significant correlations among the three methods, the ELISA with S-rSAG2 was more sensitive than the others, which could be attributed to the fact that S-rSAG2 shares some common conformational structure with the native antigen. The results suggest that S-rSAG2 would be a useful reagent for the detection of T. gondii infection in cats.

Serodiagnosis of toxoplasmosis by using a recombinant form of the 54-kilodalton rhoptry antigen expressed in Escherichia coli

A 330-residue carboxy-terminal antigenic fragment of the Toxoplasma gondii 54-kDa rhoptry protein (ROP2) was expressed in Escherichia coli as a fusion polypeptide containing a 48-amino-acid sequence derived from phage lambda protein Cro and E. coli protein LacI followed by six consecutive histidyl residues. Metal chelate affinity chromatography provided an easy way to isolate the recombinant product in a highly purified form (> 95%). When this material was used to develop an immunoglobulin G (IgG) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for diagnosis of toxoplasmosis, the test reached a sensitivity of 89%. The sensitivity of the assay was similar whether the sera contained T. gondii-specific IgM or were devoid of such IgM. It was also found that ROP2 is a conserved antigen since antibodies against the recombinant antigen could be detected in mice experimentally infected with 11 independent T. gondii isolates originating from infected human tissues tested. Thus, the 54-kDa rhoptry antigen could advantageously complement other previously described T. gondii antigens for the development of more-sensitive and more-informative recombinant antigen-based tests for toxoplasmosis diagnosis.