A 78 kDa host cell invasion protein of Neospora caninum as a potential vaccine candidate

•A T7 phage display cDNA library of Neospora caninum was constructed.•NcP78 and NcGRA7 proteins were identified from library screening.•NcP78 and NcGRA7 proteins could elicit both Th1 and Th2 immune responses.•The immune serum had inhibitory effects on invasion to Vero cells in vitro.•NcP78 and NcGRA7 could confer protective efficacies against challenge in mice.

Neosporosis is an intracellular protozoan disease caused by Neospora caninum. Until now, there is no effective vaccine to prevent neosporosis. The host cell binding protein has the potential as neosporosis vaccine. In the present study, a T7 phage display library was constructed and screened using Vero cells to obtain host cell binding protein of N. caninum. Two host cell binding proteins, a hypothetical protein of 78 kDa (named as NcP78) homologous to the acylglycerol lipase of Toxoplasma gondii ME49 (XP_002370319.1) and NcGRA7 (known as a dense granules protein that is involved in the invasion of N. caninum to the host cells), were identified. Immune responses induced by recombinant NcP78 and NcGRA7 proteins and their protective efficacies against homologous challenge in BALB/c mice were evaluated respectively. Results showed that recombinant NcP78 and NcGRA7 could elicit both Th1 and Th2 immune responses (with the elevated levels of IgG1 and IgG2a antibody), but predominately a Th2 immune response with a high level of IgG1. The ani-NcP78 and anti-NcGRA7 serum also had inhibitory effects on N. caninum invasion to Vero cells in vitro, which indicated that both NcP78 and NcGRA7 proteins were involved in host cell invasion. Recombinant NcP78 and NcGRA7 could not prolong the survival times and improve the survival rates of dams, but could prolong the survival times and improve the survival rates of offspring significantly. Moreover, the recombinant NcP78 and NcGRA7 could reduce the brain parasite load of dams and offspring. Though these protein vaccines could not effectively alleviate the symptom of abortion, they could increase the number of born offspring significantly, indicating that Nc78 and NcGRA7 recombinant proteins could provide a partial protection against N. caninum infection in mice.

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