We have genetically engineered Toxoplasma gondii so that its major surface antigen SAG1 is anchored by a human transmembrane domain (SAG1-TM) instead of its natural GPI anchor (SAG1-GPI) in order to initiate studies to address the function of this protein anchor in parasitic protozoa as well as to get insights into the functional role of SAG1. Our results show that SAG1-TM is correctly folded (...

The SAG1 Toxoplasma gondii surface protein stimulates acute ileitis. To determine whether SAG1 is also important in the eye, wild-type or SAG1 knockout parasites were injected intravitreally into mice. No differences in retinal damage or parasite growth were observed, indicating that unlike the case for the intestine, factors besides SAG1 are important for retinal damage.

Previous studies have indicated that SAG1, the major surface molecule of the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, is an important attachment ligand for the host cell. However, the research data that supports this claim comes largely from studies investigating tachyzoite binding, and not SAG1 binding per se. In this study we successfully developed an in vitro attachment assay to directly evalua...

  Genetic typing methods of T. gondii strains have been extensively perfected in recent years. From a technical point of view, many tools usable for genetic studied on single-copy loci have been used: RFLP, PCR-RFLP, sequencing, RAPD-PCR and isoenzyme analysis. We described the cloning and sequence analysis of the gene which encodes the major surface antigen (SAG1 or P30) of T. gondii. SAG1 is ...

BACKGROUND Toxoplasmosis is an opportunistic protozoan infection with a high prevalence in a broad range of hosts infecting up to one-third of the world human population. Toxoplasmosis leads to serious medical problems in immunocompromised individuals and fetuses and also induces abortion and mortality in domestic animals. Therefore, there is a huge demand for the development of an effective va...

BACKGROUND Codon optimization and subcellular targeting were studied with the aim to increase the expression levels of the SAG178-322 antigen of Toxoplasma gondii in tobacco leaves. The expression of the tobacco-optimized and native versions of the SAG1 gene was explored by transient expression from the Agrobacterium tumefaciens binary expression vector, which allows targeting the recombinant p...

Toxoplasma gondii is an Apicomplexan parasite with a complex life cycle that includes a rapidly dividing asexual stage known as the tachyzoite. The tachyzoite surface has been reported to comprise five major antigens, the most abundant of which is designated SAG1 (for surface antigen 1). At least one of the other four (SAG3) and another recently described minor antigen (SRS1 [for SAG1-related s...

genetic typing methods of t. gondii strains have been extensively perfected in recent years. from a technical point of view, many tools usable for genetic studied on single-copy loci have been used: rflp, pcr-rflp, sequencing, rapd-pcr and isoenzyme analysis. we described the cloning and sequence analysis of the gene which encodes the major surface antigen (sag1 or p30) of t. gondii. sag1 is th...

BACKGROUND Toxoplasmosis is a serious disease in immunocompromised patients and pregnant women. Differentiation of acute and chronic infection is a major challenge in serodiagnosis of the disease. Since the aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic utility of recombinant SAG1 (rec-SAG1) for the detection of Toxoplasma-specific IgM antibodies in human sera, by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent...