Cloning, expression and purification of a polytopic antigen comprising of surface antigens of Toxoplasma gondii

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Polytopic antigens are recently applied for replacing crude antigens, for control of infectious agents. The surface of the Toxoplasma is covered with immunogenic antigens namely surface antigens (SAGs). These antigens possess several immunogenic epitopes, inducing immune responses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, a DNA construct comprising of sequences encoding epitopes from SAG1, 2 and 3 was designed and cloned into pET28a expression vector and subsequently expressed and purified, using Ni-NTA column. RESULTS: The SDS-PAGE and Western blotting analysis showed that polytopic genes were successfully expressed and purified. CONCLUSION: The surface antigenic protein of T. gondii can be applied in the future epitope-based applications.