Pinitkiatisakul, Sunan
- Department of Animal Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Real-time PCR was used to study the duration and level of parasitaemia in mice immunized with immune-stimulating complexes (iscoms) containing recombinant NcSRS2, one of the immunodominant surface antigens of Neospora caninum. After challenge infection, blood was collected daily for 9 days. During this period the amounts of parasite DNA detected in immunized mice were significantly lower (P < 0.001), and the duration of parasitaemia appeared to be shorter, than in non-immunized controls. Furthermore, the degree of parasitaemia seemed to correlate well with the amount of N. caninum DNA in the brain 3 weeks post-inoculation and with disease severity measured as changes in body weight. These results indicate that the protective immunity induced by the NcSRS2-iscoms was sufficient to reduce the level of parasitaemia, which probably reduced the number of parasites reaching the brain, and could be the reason for the reduction in brain parasite load and clinical symptoms. Furthermore, real-time PCR was found to be a sensitive means for rapid assessment of N. caninum in blood.
Keywords
Neospora caninum; real-time PCR; parasitaemia; NcSRS2; iscom; vaccine
Published in
Parasitology
2008, volume: 135, number: 2, pages: 175-182
Publisher: CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
SLU Authors
Mattsson, Jens
- Department of Animal Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Animal Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Lunden, Anna
- Department of Animal Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Animal Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
UKÄ Subject classification
Veterinary Science
Animal and Dairy Science
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031182007003733
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/20520