Protective Effects of Immunization with Tetrahymena Pyriformis on Murine Toxoplasmosis
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CJap. J. Parasit., Vol. 31, No. 6, 561-568, Dec, 1982] Protective Effects of Immunization with Tetrahymena pyriformis on Murine Toxoplasmosis Asao MAKIOKA*, Akio KOBAYASHI* and Kojiro SHICHIJOt (Received for publication; September 10, 1982) Key words: Tetrahymena pyriformis, nonspecific immunization, protective effects, toxoplas mosis organisms (Ruskin and Remington, 1968 a, Introduction b). However, there has, so far, been little A significant body of evidence has been attempt to elucidate the efficacy of free-living accumulated which documents that a num organisms as an immunological adjuvant. ber of bacteria, among them Mycobacterium Tetrahymena pyriformis, a free-living cili- bo vis BCG and Propionibacterium acnes ate protozoan, is widely and extensively (Corynebacterium parvum), confer upon studied in the fields of cell biology and bio injection an increased nonspecific resistance chemistry. We chose this protozoan from in the host against a variety of viral (Larson among many free-living organisms because it et al, 1971), bacterial (Senterfitt and was known that the organism proliferates as Shands, 1970; Adlam et al, 1972) and pro- fast as bacteria and can be easily cultured tozoal infections (Nussenzweig, 1967; Ortiz- in axenic condition, and numerous informa Ortiz et al, 1975; Tabbara et al, 1975; tions with regard to morphological and bio Clark et al, 1976; Clark et al, 1977; chemical characteristics of it have been ac Smrkovski and Larson, 1977; Smrkovski and cumulated. Strickland, 1978). They are most widely We considered it of interest to determine recognized as immunostimulators and non whether immunization of mice with this specific resistance by their administration is organism could induce nonspecific resistance associated with cell-mediated immunity. On against Toxoplasma challenge infection. the other hand, it has also been shown that infections with intracellular protozoa such Materials and Methods as Toxoplasma gondii and Besnoitia jellisoni provide resistance in mice against challenge Mice: Six- to 8-week-old female outbred with phylogenetically unrelated intracellular ddY mice were used in most experiments. BALB/c derived nu/nu and nu/+ mice, 6- This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for to 8-week-old female, were also used in some Scientific Research (No. 56570165) from the experiments. All mice were purchased from Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of the Shizuoka Agricultural Cooperative As Japan. sociation for Laboratory Animals, Hama- * Department of Parasitology, Jikei University matsu, Japan. School of Medicine, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105, BCG vaccine: Lyophilized BCG vaccine Japan of Japanese substrain was obtained from Dr. t First Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Gunma University, Maebashi, Japan T. Tokunaga, the National Institute of (83) 562 Health of Japan, which was a product of the zoites which were equivalent to those within Japan BCG Laboratory. Tokyo. It was sus one cyst of mean size. This number of pended in sterile saline and adjusted to an bradyzoites usually caused death of 80% or appropriate concentration before use. Heat- more of normal mice when inoculated i.p.. killed BCG was prepared by heating viable Besides i.p. challenge, intravenous (i.v.), per organisms for 1 hr at 70 C. oral (p.o.) and subcutaneous (s.c.) chal Tetrahymena: The W-strain of Tetra lenges were also performed in some experi hymena pyriformis was obtained from Dr. ments. The mice were observed until 1 Y. Watanabe, Institute of Biological Sciences, month after the challenge and their mortality Tsukuba University, and cultivated in 3 1 and average survival time were assessed. The Fernbach flasks each containing 300 ml of dead mice in the experiment were each PYD medium (1% proteose peptone, 0.5% checked for the presence of toxoplasmas. yeast extract, and 0.8% dextrose) under Assay of Toxoplasma antibodies: An in sterile conditions (Watanabe and Ikeda, direct latex agglutination (LA) test (Toxo- 1965). The culture flasks were kept shaken test-MT, Eiken Co.) was used to determine horizontally. The organisms were harvested the serum level of Toxoplasma antibodies by centrifugation at 850 X g for 5 min and (Kobayashi et al, 1978). washed once with inorganic medium (NaCl 100 mg, KC1 4mg, CaCl2 6 mg in 1 1 of Results distilled water) (Watanabe and Ikeda, 1965). For lysis, the organisms in inorganic Effect of immunization with various doses medium were frozen-thawed twice. This en of Tetrahymena against Toxoplasma chal tire preparation was referred to lysed Tetra lenge hymena antigen. To establish the minimum effective dose of Tetrahymena, mice were immunized i.p. Immunization: Mice were injected intra- peritoneally (i.p.) with live Tetrahymena or its lysed antigen. Live or heat-killed BCG Table 1 Effect of immunization with various were injected similarly into mice as positive doses of Tetrahymena against Toxoplasma control. Dose and immunization schedules challenge* of Tetrahymena and BCG are described in No. mice dead/ Average particular experiments. Immunization! Dose no. inoculated days Challenge with Toxoplasma; Immunized (%) survival % and control mice were challenged with 0 6/10( 90) 12.2 bradyzoites of the weak virulent Beverley Th§(live) 1X105 6/10( 60) 11.7 strain of T. gondii. The inoculum of Toxo 1X106 l/10( 10) 14 plasma was prepared as follows. Brains of 1X107 1/10( 10) 13 the chronically infected mice were removed 0 10/10(100) 11.7 and triturated in 5 ml of phosphate-buffered Th (lysed) 1X105 10/10(100) 17.3 saline at pH 7. 2 (PBS) with mortar and 1X106 5/10( 50) 15.7 pestle. The number of cysts in a unit volume 1X107 5/10( 50) 19.0 of the brain suspension was estimated. The * Mice were challenged i.p. with 5,000 brady supension was treated with 0.25% trypsin zoites of the Beverley strain of Toxoplasma for 10 min and released bradyzoites wrere and investigated up to 30 days after the challenge. washed twice in PBS, centrifuged at 700 Xg t Immunization was made by i.p. route 7 days for 10 min and resuspended in PBS. The before Toxoplasma challenge infection. inoculum for the challenge infection was ad X Average surviving days of mice that died. justed to contain approximately 5.000 brady § Th, Tetrahymena. ( 84 ) 564 mice once or twice. For two immunizations, Table 4 Comparison of protective effects of the interval was 14 days. Mice non-treated Tetrahymena and BGG against Toxoplasma or inoculated with inert substances such as challenge glycogen and sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) No. mice dead/ Average were served as controls. Toxoplasma chal Immunization* no. inoculated days (%) survival lenge was performed 7 or 4 days after a None 52/54(96.3) 11.1 single or two injections with Tetrahymena Glycogen 10/10(100) 11.1 or BCG. Mice that received 0.5 ml of 0.1% SRBG 10/10(100) 14.1 glycogen or lxlO9 SRBC were challenged Th(live), once 4/40(10.0) 18.3 1 day and 7 days after inoculation, respec Th(lysed), once 14/30(46.7) 12.8 tively. The results are shown in Table 4. BCG (live), once 6/30(20.0) 16.3 All groups of immunized mice were signifi BCG (heat-killed), once 6/30(20.0) 12.8 cantly protected from death, i.e., smaller Th(live), twice! 3/15(20.0) 14.7 mortal rate as compared with control mice. Th(lysed), twice 18/28(64.3) 13.4 BCG (live), twice The degree of protection afforded by live 6/28(21.4) 14.3 BCG (heat-killed), twice 1/15 ( 6.7) 19 Tetrahymena was comparable to that in duced by live or heat-killed BGG, but lysed * 1X107 organisms for both Th and BCG, 0.5 Tetrahymena antigen conferred lesser degree ml of 0.1% glycogen or 1X109 sheep eryth rocytes (SRBC) were each injected i.p. into of resistance than did both live and heat- mice. Mice were challenged i.p. with Toxo killed BCG vaccines. There was no signifi plasma 7 days after a single injection or 4 cant difference in mortality between the days after second injection with Th or BCG. groups of mice immunized with a single in Mice that received glycogen or SRBC were jection and with two injections of Tetra challenged 1 day and 7 days after inoculation, hymena or BCG. respectively. For Toxoplasma challenge see Effect of immunization with Tetrahymena footnote of Table 1. against Toxoplasma challenge by various t Interval between two immunizations was 14 days. routes To evaluate the effect of immunization with Tetrahymena against Toxoplasma chal i.v. challenge, whereas considerable degree lenge by various routes, mice were injected of reduction in mortality was observed in i.p. with 1 X 107 Tetrahymena and challenged Tetrahymena-irnrnvLXiized mice. The result i.p., i.v., p.o. or s.c. with Toxoplasma. For of i.p. challenge with Toxoplasma was simi the comparison, BCG was also used as an lar to that obtained in the previous experi immunostimulant. Results are shown in ment; the degree of protection afforded by Table 5. All control mice died from i.p. or live Tetrahymena was greater than that by Table 5 Effect of immunization with Tetrahymena against Toxoplasma challenge by various routes No. mice dead/no, inoculated (%) and average days survival Immunization* after Toxoplasma challenge by routet of (i.p.) i.p. p.o. None 10/10(100)11.3 10/10(100)12.9 6/10( 60)14.8 6/10 ( 60)16.0 Th(live) l/10( 10)17 6/10( 60)15.2 3/10( 30)19.7 6/10( 60)18.0 Th (lysed) 6/10( 60)11.8 3/10( 30)16.3 4/10( 40)13.8 3/10( 30)19.7 BCG (live) 2/10( 20)19.3 6/10( 60)14.5 l/10( 10)14 3/10( 30)19.7 * For immunization and Toxoplasma challenge see footnotes of Table 1 and 4.