Analysis of Structures and Epitopes of Surface Antigen Glycoproteins Expressed in Bradyzoites of Toxoplasma gondii

Abstract EN

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite capable of infecting humans and animals.

Surface antigen glycoproteins, SAG2C, -2D, -2X, and -2Y, are expressed on the surface of bradyzoites.

These antigens have been shown to protect bradyzoites against immune responses during chronic infections.

We studied structures of SAG2C, -2D, -2X, and -2Y proteins using bioinformatics methods.

The protein sequence alignment was performed by T-Coffee method.

Secondary structural and functional domains were predicted using software PSIPRED v3.0 and SMART software, and 3D models of proteins were constructed and compared using the I-TASSER server, VMD, and SWISS-spdbv.

Our results showed that SAG2C, -2D, -2X, and -2Y are highly homologous proteins.

They share the same conserved peptides and HLA-I restricted epitopes.

The similarity in structure and domains indicated putative common functions that might stimulate similar immune response in hosts.

The conserved peptides and HLA-restricted epitopes could provide important insights on vaccine study and the diagnosis of this disease.