Toxoplasma gondii C2 Domain Protein Deletion Mutant as a Promising Vaccine Against Toxoplasmosis in Mice

ABSTRACT Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), a parasitic protozoan capable of infecting nearly all warm‐blooded animals, causes significant economic losses in livestock and poses a significant threat to both animal and public health. Despite its impact, no ideal vaccine is currently available to prevent...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yifan Luo, Mingfeng He, Shengqiang Yang, Jiahui Qian, Zhengming He, Jiayin Xu, Liyu Guo, Siyu Xiao, Rui Fang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-05-01
Series:Microbial Biotechnology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.70143
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849717741481623552
author Yifan Luo
Mingfeng He
Shengqiang Yang
Jiahui Qian
Zhengming He
Jiayin Xu
Liyu Guo
Siyu Xiao
Rui Fang
author_facet Yifan Luo
Mingfeng He
Shengqiang Yang
Jiahui Qian
Zhengming He
Jiayin Xu
Liyu Guo
Siyu Xiao
Rui Fang
author_sort Yifan Luo
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), a parasitic protozoan capable of infecting nearly all warm‐blooded animals, causes significant economic losses in livestock and poses a significant threat to both animal and public health. Despite its impact, no ideal vaccine is currently available to prevent toxoplasmosis. Vesicular transport plays a crucial role in the life cycle of T. gondii, and proteins involved in this process – such as those containing C2 domains – may serve as novel targets for the development of live attenuated vaccines. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of a C2 domain‐containing protein (TGME49_203240) as a live attenuated vaccine candidate. Our findings suggest that TGME49_203240 may be involved in vesicular transport and that it is essential for T. gondii growth. Deletion of TGME49_203240 reduced parasite virulence and impaired tissue cyst formation in mice. Moreover, mice vaccinated with ME49Δ203240 were protected against the lethal challenge of the tachyzoites of T. gondii I, II, III strains and cysts of II strain. In addition, the ME49Δ203240 strain elicited robust immune responses, including the production of high levels of specific IgG antibodies and key cytokines (IFN‐γ, TNF‐α and IL‐12). These findings highlight TGME49_203240 as a promising target for the development of a live attenuated vaccine against T. gondii.
format Article
id doaj-art-77c6cc79a79d4751ab573fca5e66b47d
institution DOAJ
issn 1751-7915
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Microbial Biotechnology
spelling doaj-art-77c6cc79a79d4751ab573fca5e66b47d2025-08-20T03:12:35ZengWileyMicrobial Biotechnology1751-79152025-05-01185n/an/a10.1111/1751-7915.70143Toxoplasma gondii C2 Domain Protein Deletion Mutant as a Promising Vaccine Against Toxoplasmosis in MiceYifan Luo0Mingfeng He1Shengqiang Yang2Jiahui Qian3Zhengming He4Jiayin Xu5Liyu Guo6Siyu Xiao7Rui Fang8State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan Hubei ChinaState Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan Hubei ChinaState Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan Hubei ChinaState Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan Hubei ChinaState Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan Hubei ChinaState Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan Hubei ChinaState Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan Hubei ChinaCollege of Veterinary Medicine Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan Hubei ChinaState Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan Hubei ChinaABSTRACT Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), a parasitic protozoan capable of infecting nearly all warm‐blooded animals, causes significant economic losses in livestock and poses a significant threat to both animal and public health. Despite its impact, no ideal vaccine is currently available to prevent toxoplasmosis. Vesicular transport plays a crucial role in the life cycle of T. gondii, and proteins involved in this process – such as those containing C2 domains – may serve as novel targets for the development of live attenuated vaccines. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of a C2 domain‐containing protein (TGME49_203240) as a live attenuated vaccine candidate. Our findings suggest that TGME49_203240 may be involved in vesicular transport and that it is essential for T. gondii growth. Deletion of TGME49_203240 reduced parasite virulence and impaired tissue cyst formation in mice. Moreover, mice vaccinated with ME49Δ203240 were protected against the lethal challenge of the tachyzoites of T. gondii I, II, III strains and cysts of II strain. In addition, the ME49Δ203240 strain elicited robust immune responses, including the production of high levels of specific IgG antibodies and key cytokines (IFN‐γ, TNF‐α and IL‐12). These findings highlight TGME49_203240 as a promising target for the development of a live attenuated vaccine against T. gondii.https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.70143C2 domainimmune protectionlive attenuated vaccineTGME49_203240Toxoplasma gondiivesicle transport
spellingShingle Yifan Luo
Mingfeng He
Shengqiang Yang
Jiahui Qian
Zhengming He
Jiayin Xu
Liyu Guo
Siyu Xiao
Rui Fang
Toxoplasma gondii C2 Domain Protein Deletion Mutant as a Promising Vaccine Against Toxoplasmosis in Mice
Microbial Biotechnology
C2 domain
immune protection
live attenuated vaccine
TGME49_203240
Toxoplasma gondii
vesicle transport
title Toxoplasma gondii C2 Domain Protein Deletion Mutant as a Promising Vaccine Against Toxoplasmosis in Mice
title_full Toxoplasma gondii C2 Domain Protein Deletion Mutant as a Promising Vaccine Against Toxoplasmosis in Mice
title_fullStr Toxoplasma gondii C2 Domain Protein Deletion Mutant as a Promising Vaccine Against Toxoplasmosis in Mice
title_full_unstemmed Toxoplasma gondii C2 Domain Protein Deletion Mutant as a Promising Vaccine Against Toxoplasmosis in Mice
title_short Toxoplasma gondii C2 Domain Protein Deletion Mutant as a Promising Vaccine Against Toxoplasmosis in Mice
title_sort toxoplasma gondii c2 domain protein deletion mutant as a promising vaccine against toxoplasmosis in mice
topic C2 domain
immune protection
live attenuated vaccine
TGME49_203240
Toxoplasma gondii
vesicle transport
url https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.70143
work_keys_str_mv AT yifanluo toxoplasmagondiic2domainproteindeletionmutantasapromisingvaccineagainsttoxoplasmosisinmice
AT mingfenghe toxoplasmagondiic2domainproteindeletionmutantasapromisingvaccineagainsttoxoplasmosisinmice
AT shengqiangyang toxoplasmagondiic2domainproteindeletionmutantasapromisingvaccineagainsttoxoplasmosisinmice
AT jiahuiqian toxoplasmagondiic2domainproteindeletionmutantasapromisingvaccineagainsttoxoplasmosisinmice
AT zhengminghe toxoplasmagondiic2domainproteindeletionmutantasapromisingvaccineagainsttoxoplasmosisinmice
AT jiayinxu toxoplasmagondiic2domainproteindeletionmutantasapromisingvaccineagainsttoxoplasmosisinmice
AT liyuguo toxoplasmagondiic2domainproteindeletionmutantasapromisingvaccineagainsttoxoplasmosisinmice
AT siyuxiao toxoplasmagondiic2domainproteindeletionmutantasapromisingvaccineagainsttoxoplasmosisinmice
AT ruifang toxoplasmagondiic2domainproteindeletionmutantasapromisingvaccineagainsttoxoplasmosisinmice