Evaluation of the immunogenicity of Toxoplasma gondii attenuated strain in cats

Subject Areas : Parasitology

Pejman Houshmand ¹ (Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kazerun Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kazerun, Iran)
Ahad Olyaei ² (Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kazerun Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kazerun, Iran)
Darya Davoodi ³ (Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kazerun Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kazerun, Iran)
seyedeh zahra bootorabi ⁴ (Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kazerun Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kazerun, Iran)
Elham Ghazanfari ⁵ (Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kazerun Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kazerun, Iran)
Masoumeh Hayati ⁶ (Razi vaccine and serum research institute, Shiraz Branch, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Shiraz, Iran)
Zahra Khabazan ⁷ (Razi vaccine and serum research institute, Shiraz Branch, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Shiraz, Iran)
Fatemeh Dabiri ⁸ (Razi vaccine and serum research institute, Shiraz Branch, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Shiraz, Iran)
Mohammad mehdi Namavari ⁹ (Razi vaccine and serum research institute, Shiraz Branch, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Shiraz, Iran)
Fatemeh Khosravi ¹⁰ (Department of Information Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Salman Farsi Branch, Salman Farsi University, Kazerun, Iran)

Received: 2021-09-18 Accepted : 2022-02-07 Published : 2021-12-22

Keywords: immune responses, Toxoplasma gondii, Cat, Oocysts shedding,

Abstract :

Background & Objectives: Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite which definitive hosts, Felid and cats, play a critical role in transmission and distribution of the parasite and their immunization is a proper way to control the infection. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the                       immunogenicity of Toxoplasma gondii attenuated isolate produced in Razi Institute branch of    Shiraz in cats Materials & Methods: Twelve male DSH (Domestic short hair) kittens aged 3-6 months were     randomly divided into three groups; each contains four cats. The First group received tachyzoites of Toxoplasma gondii attenuated isolate at a dose of 10×106 by injection, the second group         received a dose of 25×106 orally and the last group received culture medium as a control. The     humoral immune responses and Cellular immunity evaluated by modified agglutination and skin test. One month after immunization, all cats were challenged by Toxoplasma's PRU strain, after which the cats' feces were collected and molecular tests were performed for five days. Results: The results of modified agglutination and skin test showed that administration of oral and injection vaccine had a significant increase in comparison with control. Also, Molecular testing after challenge revealed that immunization of cats by oral and injection way of Toxoplasma gondii attenuated isolate could successfully prohibit oocysts shedding in cats. Conclusion: In order to the significant immune responses and prevention of oocysts shedding, it is suggested that, using this isolation of Toxoplasma gondii as a possible candidate vaccine for cats in future studies.