Evaluation of immune responses induced by SAG1 and MIC3 vaccine cocktails against Toxoplasma gondii

The aim of this study was to evaluate the immune responses of a SAG1 and MIC3 vaccine cocktail in BALB/c mice. Ninety-six BALB/c mice were randomly divided into eight groups, including three plasmid DNA vaccine groups (pcDNA-MIC3, pcDNA-SAG1, pcDNA-MIC3 + pcDNA-SAG1), three recombinant pseudotype baculovirus vaccine groups (BV-G-MIC3, BV-G-SAG1, BV-G-SAG1 + BV-G-MIC3) and two control groups (PBS and BV-G-EGFP). All groups were immunized intramuscularly twice at three-week intervals. The production of anti-Toxoplasma gondii lysate antigen (TLA) antibodies, lymphoproliferation, levels of IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-10 and the survival time were monitored after vaccination. The results showed that immunization of BALB/c mice with MIC3 and SAG1 vaccines stimulated both the cellular and humoral immune responses with the production of anti-T. gondii TLA antibodies. The vaccine cocktails of pcDNA-MIC3 + pcDNA-SAG1 or BV-G-SAG1 + BV-G-MIC3 induced significantly higher immunogenicity than a single-gene vaccine (P < 0.05). Splenocytes from the immunized mice significantly proliferated in response to the TLA and released interferon (IFN)-γ (P < 0.05). However, the levels of IL-4 and IL-10 in the sera of the immunized mice were not significantly different from those of the controls (P > 0.05). Immunization with the vaccine cocktail (BV-G-SAG1 + BV-G-MIC3) in mice significantly prolonged survival (50%; P < 0.05) against a lethal challenge of T. gondii (RH tachyzoites), while all mice in the other immunized groups and control groups died within 20 and 4 days post-infection, respectively. Furthermore, the recombinant pseudotype baculovirus vaccines induced better immunogenicity than the plasmid DNA vaccines (P < 0.05). These results suggest that an excellent vector-mediated vaccine cocktail strategy might be used to develop a new generation of vaccines against T. gondii infection.