Write a 11 page essay on Protective immune response against Toxoplasma gondii elicited by recombinant DNA vaccines.Download file to see previous pages... Statistics indicate that, in the UK, close to

Write a 11 page essay on Protective immune response against Toxoplasma gondii elicited by recombinant DNA vaccines.

Statistics indicate that, in the UK, close to 30% of humans are infected by the parasite, and as such, are a haven of dormant cysts within their brain. however, very few of the infected manifest explicit symptoms of disease. The increased incidence within certain European countries has largely been attributed to differentials in the mode of food preparation, especially with enhanced risk associated with eating undercooked meat. Atypical and/or recombinant strains of T. gondii are linked to considerable disease manifestations, inclusive of pulmonary involvement, ocular disease, and splenomegaly in several non-European countries. Neurological disease can manifest in these subjects in the event that they become immunosuppressed. It is evident that infection during pregnancy may lead to abortion or foetal infection (Pratt and Roberts 2009, p.122). T. gondii infections manifested in immunocompetent hosts predominantly remain asymptomatic or regularly trigger mild symptoms. Nevertheless, in immunocompromised subjects such as individuals with AIDS, organ transplant recipients, and malignancy patients, T. gondii infection can lead to severe or even fatal damage as an opportunistic parasite (Innes, Bartley, Maley, Katzer and Buxton 2009, p.346). Furthermore, congenital toxoplasmosis is of significant clinical importance since it occurs as severe maternal infection during pregnancy that affects the fetus, yielding retinochoroiditis, intracranial calcifications, mental retardation, hydrocephalus, and even cases of unprompted abortion and neonatal death (Pratt and Roberts 2009, p.123). Similarly, T. gondii infection in animals possesses considerable economic significance as it causes abortion, neonatal loss, and stillbirth, especially among sheep. The present T. gondii controls feature primarily on chemotherapy. however, the available drugs mainly possess many side effects along with challenges of reactivation (Guex-Crosier2009, p.140). This renders a vaccine against toxoplasmosis to be of high priority, although, currently there is no vaccine approved for human use. Toxovax sums up as the only commercial vaccine available for use in livestock and grounded in the live attenuated S48 strain (Petersen 2007, p.214). Nevertheless, live vaccine remains inadequately characterized at the genetic level and potentially caries the intrinsic of relapsing to virulence. This makes the development of an effective and safe vaccine against T. gondii in both humans and animals to be a realistic goal (Angus 2000, p.317). T. gondii manifests an intricate life cycle bearing three morphologically unique infectious stages. Each of the infectious stages detailing tachyzoites (speedily multiplying parasites of the severe phase of infection), bradyzoites (those engaged in tissue cycts), and sporozoites (those engaged in oocysts) bears a characteristic biological function to play. Moreover, accumulating evidences signify that vaccination with stage-specific antigens yields stage-limited protection (Jongert, Roberts, Gargano, Forster-Waldl and Petersen 2009, p.252). Thus, in the course of studying vaccines against T. gondii, it is critical to develop a multigenic vaccine that links with growth stages in diverse life cycle stages so as to overcome the deficiency of employing single antigen as a vaccine candidate.