Cryptocaryoniasis, caused by Cryptocaryon irritans, is a significant threat to marine fish cultures in tropical and subtropical waters. However, controlling this disease remains a challenge. Fish infected with C. irritans acquires immunity; however, C. irritans is difficult to culture in large quantities, obstructing vaccine development using parasite cells. In this study, we established a method for expressing an arbitrary protein on the surface of Tetrahymena thermophila, a culturable ciliate, to develop a mimetic C. irritans. Fusing the signal peptide (SP) and glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor sequences of the immobilization antigen, a surface protein of C. irritans, to the fluorescent protein, monomeric Azami-green 1 (mAG1) of the stony coral Galaxea fascicularis, allowed protein expression on the surface and cilia of transgenic Tetrahymena cells. This technique may help develop transgenic Tetrahymena displaying parasite antigens on their cell surface, potentially contributing to the development of vaccines using “mimetic parasites”.

由 Cryptocaryon irritans 引起的隐石虫病对热带和亚热带水域的海水鱼类养殖构成重大威胁。然而，控制这种疾病仍然是一个挑战。感染 C. irritans 的鱼获得免疫力;然而，C. irritans 难以大量培养，阻碍了使用寄生虫细胞的疫苗开发。在这项研究中，我们建立了一种在嗜热四膜菌（一种可培养的纤毛虫）表面表达任意蛋白质以产生模拟 C. irritans 的方法。将固定抗原（C. irritans 的表面蛋白）的信号肽 （SP） 和糖基磷脂酰肌醇 （GPI） 锚定序列与石珊瑚 Galaxea fascicularis 的单体 Azami-green 1 （mAG1） 融合，允许在转基因 Tetrahymena 细胞的表面和纤毛上表达蛋白质。这项技术可能有助于开发在其细胞表面显示寄生虫抗原的转基因 Tetrahymena，可能有助于开发使用“模拟寄生虫”的疫苗。