Development of a system to study CD4+-T-Cell responses to transgenic ovalbumin-expressing Toxoplasma gondii during toxoplasmosis

The study of the immune response to Toxoplasma gondii has provided numerous insights into the role of T cells in resistance to intracellular infections. However, the complexity of this eukaryote pathogen has made it difficult to characterize immunodominant epitopes that would allow the identification of T cells with a known specificity for parasite antigens. As a consequence, analysis of T-cell responses to T. gondii has been based on characterization of the percentage of T cells that express an activated phenotype during infection and on the ability of these cells to produce cytokines in response to complex mixtures of parasite antigens. In order to study specific CD4(+) T cells responses to T. gondii, recombinant parasites that express a truncated ovalbumin (OVA) protein, in either a cytosolic or a secreted form, were engineered. In vitro and in vivo studies reveal that transgenic parasites expressing secreted OVA are able to stimulate T-cell receptor-transgenic OVA-specific CD4(+) T cells to proliferate, express an activated phenotype, and produce gamma interferon (IFN-gamma). Furthermore, the adoptive transfer of OVA-specific T cells into IFN-gamma(-/-) mice provided enhanced protection against infection with the OVA-transgenic (but not parental) parasites. Together, these studies establish the utility of this transgenic system to study CD4(+)-T-cell responses during toxoplasmosis.