The role of TgEfhc3 in Toxoplasma gondii biology and its prospects as a subunit vaccine

TL;DR

This study shows that TgEfhc3 is important for the Toxoplasma gondii parasite's life cycle and could be a candidate for a vaccine.

Contribution

The study identifies TgEfhc3 as a novel target for vaccine development against toxoplasmosis.

Findings

Genetic deletion of TgEfhc3 impaired parasite proliferation, egress, and invasion.

Recombinant TgEfhc3 partially protected mice against acute T. gondii infection.

Immunization induced strong humoral and cellular immune responses.

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis, caused by Toxoplasma gondii, poses a significant global health threat, with no commercial vaccine available for humans. The parasite's egress process, which bridges its intracellular replication cycles and is critical for survival and dissemination, is tightly regulated by calcium. Notably, the T. gondii EF-hand domain-containing protein (Efhc) exhibits the highest Ca2⁺-binding affinity among its calcium-binding proteins.

CRISPR/Cas9 was used to generate a conditional knockout strain (TgEfhc3-C-AID). Phenotypic assays (plaque, intracellular proliferation, egress, invasion and murine virulence) were used to assess its impact on tachyzoite growth and development. Subsequently, TgEfhc3 antigenicity was analyzed using DNAstar software, immunofluorescence assays and Western blots. Recombinant TgEfhc3 (rTgEfhc3) proteins, expressed in Escherichia coli, were subcutaneously administered to BALB/c mice to evaluate their protective efficacy against acute toxoplasmosis. Immune mechanisms induced by rTgEfhc3 were analyzed by measuring serum IgG/IgG subclasses (IgG1, IgG2a) and splenic T cell cytokines (IL-4, IFN-γ, IL-10) by ELISA and the the frequencies of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells by flow cytometry.

Genetic deletion severely impaired tachyzoite proliferation, egress and invasion, indicating that it is essential in T. gondii biology. Furthermore, recombinant TgEfhc3 was evaluated as a subunit vaccine in a mouse model and was subsequently shown to partially protect against acute T. gondii infection. Immunization induced high levels of anti-T. gondii IgG and subclasses, enhanced Th1/Th2 cytokine production (IL-4, IFN-γ, IL-10) in splenic T lymphocytes and stimulated robust CD4⁺ T-cell proliferation. This elicited complex cellular and humoral immunity significantly prolonged survival time following acute T. gondii infection.

This study found that TgEfhc3 is crucial for T. gondii tachyzoite growth and development, providing new insights into infection mechanisms. Given the partial protective immunity conferred, TgEfhc3 warrants consideration as a component in future toxoplasmosis vaccine strategies.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13071-026-07274-8.

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