Vaccination with gamma-irradiated Neospora caninum tachyzoites protects mice against acute challenge with N. caninum

Neospora caninum, an apicomplexan parasite, is a leading cause of bovine abortions worldwide. The efficacy of gamma-irradiated N. caninum strain NC-1 tachyzoites as a vaccine for neosporosis was assessed in C57BL6 mice. A dose of 528 Gy of gamma irradiation was sufficient to arrest replication but not host cell penetration by tachyzoites. Female C57BL6 mice were vaccinated with two intraperitoneal inoculations of 1 x 10(6) irradiated tachyzoites at 4-wk intervals. When stimulated with N. caninum tachyzoite lysates, splenocytes of vaccinated mice, cultured 5 and 10 wk after vaccination, secreted significant (P<0.05) levels of interferon gamma, interleukin (IL)-10, and small amounts of IL-4. Antibody isotype-specific ELISA of sera from vaccinated mice exhibited both IgG1 and IgG2a isotypes of antibodies. Vaccinated mice were challenged intraperitoneally with 2 x 10(7)N. caninum tachyzoites. All vaccinated mice remained healthy and showed no obvious signs of neosporosis up to the 25th day post-challenge when the study was terminated. All unvaccinated control mice died within 1 wk of infection. Gamma-irradiated N. caninum tachyzoites can serve as an effective, attenuated vaccine for N. caninum.