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Updated: Aug 5, 2026

Obtaining Highly Purified Toxoplasma gondii Oocysts by a Discontinuous Cesium Chloride Gradient
Published on: November 3, 2009
Toxoplasma gondii Tyrosine-Rich Oocyst Wall Protein: A Closer Look through an In Silico Prism
Ali Asghari1, Hamidreza Majidiani2, Taher Nemati3
1Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Abstract:
Toxoplasmosis is a global threat with significant zoonotic concern. The present in silico study was aimed at determination of bioinformatics features and immunogenic epitopes of a tyrosine-rich oocyst wall protein (TrOWP) of Toxoplasma gondii. After retrieving the amino acid sequence from UniProt database, several parameters were predicted including antigenicity, allergenicity, solubility and physico-chemical features, signal peptide, transmembrane domain, and posttranslational modifications. Following secondary and tertiary structure prediction, the 3D model was refined, and immunogenic epitopes were forecasted. It was a 25.57 kDa hydrophilic molecule with 236 residues, a signal peptide, and significant antigenicity scores. Moreover, several linear and conformational B-cell epitopes were present. Also, potential mouse and human cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) and helper T-lymphocyte (HTL) epitopes were predicted in the sequence. The findings of the present in silico study are promising as they render beneficial characteristics of TrOWP to be included in future vaccination experiments.
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Toxoplasmosis
Amebiasis
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