Clin

Clin. hosts of that excrete oocysts. These appear 10 days after ingestion of infected tissue and continue to be excreted for 2 weeks. Transmission to intermediate hosts can occur through ingesting infectious oocysts from the environment or cysts in undercooked or uncooked meat (2). Transplacental transmission may also occur when the tachyzoites pass to the fetus via the placenta (3). The Tasidotin hydrochloride infection has a major economic impact on the livestock industry, resulting in reproductive losses, abortion, fetal resorption, and stillbirths (1, 3, 4). Accurate diagnosis of infection is crucial for the proper management of the infection in humans and animals. Diagnosis of toxoplasmosis can be achieved using a number of different approaches, including microscopic examination, animal inoculation, culture, and molecular and serological methods. Animal inoculation, culture, and microscopic examination of parasites by inspection of blood smears, tissue specimens, feces, lymph node aspirates, and cerebrospinal fluid are not appropriate for routine mass screening (5). The latex agglutination test (LAT) is to date considered the gold standard method for diagnosis of infection; however, the test has poor specificity (5, 6). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) with purified recombinant proteins are widely used for routine diagnostic testing and in seroepidemiological investigations (7C9). However, the test is expensive, needs specialized facilities in the laboratory, and cannot be used in the field and clinic. The immunochromatographic test (ICT) is rapid and does not require expensive equipment and expertise (10, 11). A previous study has shown a promising application of ICT based on recombinant Tasidotin hydrochloride major surface antigen 2 (TgSAG2) for the detection of antibody to the infection in cats (10). A more recent report has documented limitations of TgSAG2 in the detection of antibody in early and acute stages of infection (12). Therefore, the development of a new ICT with a more Tasidotin hydrochloride sensitive and specific antigen for detecting the infection in animals and humans is required for preventive and control programs for toxoplasmosis. Dense granule antigen proteins of (TgGRAs) are identified as secretory proteins found abundantly within the parasitophorous vacuole (PV) surrounding the parasites (13). Members of this family are potential antigens for the development of a diagnostic tool for toxoplasmosis. Rabbit Polyclonal to PAK5/6 (phospho-Ser602/Ser560) TgGRA7 is a member of this family that was earlier identified by serological immunoscreening of a cDNA library using infected human sera (14). After host cell invasion, this protein is secreted into the Tasidotin hydrochloride vacuolar network, the parasitophorous vacuole membrane (PVM), and extensions protruding into the cytoplasm. TgGRA7 accumulates within the PV and PVM in tachyzoite-infected cells and in the cytoplasm of bradyzoite-infected cells (13, 15). Several reports have demonstrated the usefulness of TgGRA7 as a serodiagnostic marker of toxoplasmosis. Indeed, the indirect ELISA (iELISA) based on TgGRA7 showed overall sensitivity of 81 to 88% and specificity of 98 to 100% with sera from patients (16, 17). Moreover, the iELISA with TgGRA7 had the highest positivity rates in comparison with the positivity rates of other proteins, including the rhoptry (TgROP1) and matrix antigens (TgMAG1), the major surface antigen (TgSAG1), and TgGRA8 (18). Another member of the dense granule proteins, TgGRA14, was recently identified within the PV and PVM surrounding the parasite, although its antigenicity was unknown (19). In the present study, the diagnostic performances of recombinant proteins of TgGRA7 were evaluated in the iELISA and ICT using sera from Tasidotin hydrochloride experimentally and naturally infected animals. Our data show that the ICT based on TgGRA7 is a better diagnostic tool for routine testing of infection in.