Evaluation of a recombinant multiepitope peptide for serodiagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii infection.

Detection of Toxoplasma gondii infection with sensitive and specific methods is a key step in the prevention and treatment of toxoplasmosis. Among the available diagnostic tests, serology is commonly used. Although serological tests give satisfactory results, the production of reliable reagents remains laborious and expensive. There is therefore a real need to acquire specific and effective recombinant antigens for the serodiagnosis of T. gondii infection. In this study, a multiepitope peptide was designed and successfully expressed in Escherichia coli, and then IgG and IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were developed and evaluated. Our results showed that the new multiepitope antigen is one of the most promising recombinant antigens which could be used in routine screening of human toxoplasmosis.