IL-24 Is a Promising Molecular Adjuvant for Enhancing Protective Immunity Induced by DNA Vaccination Against Toxoplasma gondii

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I beleive the article is of high quality, since in this study, a DNA vaccine encoding TgROP5, TgROP18, TgGRA7, TgRGRA15, and TgMIC6 was formulated using the eukaryotic expression vector pVAX. 

IL-24 was delivered as a molecular adjuvant using plasmid pVAX-IL-24. BALB/c, C57BL/6, and Kunming mouse strains received the DNA immunization, after which antibody levels, cytokine production, and lymphocyte surface markers were analyzed to assess immune response. 

I beleive the paper to be suitable of publication in the present form. 

Author Response

Comments 1: I believe the article is of high quality, since in this study, a DNA vaccine encoding TgROP5, TgROP18, TgGRA7, TgRGRA15, and TgMIC6 was formulated using the eukaryotic expression vector pVAX.  IL-24 was delivered as a molecular adjuvant using plasmid pVAX-IL-24. BALB/c, C57BL/6, and Kunming mouse strains received the DNA immunization, after which antibody levels, cytokine production, and lymphocyte surface markers were analyzed to assess immune response. I believe the paper to be suitable of publication in the present form. 

Response 1: We thank Reviewer #1 very much for his/her favorable comments on our MS.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The submitted research manuscript about DNA vaccines and adjuvant IL-24 for the prevention and suppression of T. gondii infections is meaningful and well-designed. The topic is suitable for this journal. The provided experiments are accurate and the obtained results are interesting and clearly presented. Hence, the manuscript can be accepted after minor revision:

Please write ´´T. gondii´´ in italics wherever it appears in the manuscript. The same for other scientific species names such as ´´Escherichia coli´´.

Discussion: The authors should briefly discuss known IL-24 stimulants as possible adjuvant drugs (see also PMID: 40076586 and 38414326) to prevent parasite infection and their possible role in the combination with the described DNA vaccines.

References: Please provide the references in a consistent way (e.g., the title of ref 6 is written with big letters).

Author Response

• Comments 1: The submitted research manuscript about DNA vaccines and adjuvant IL-24 for the prevention and suppression of T. gondii infections is meaningful and well-designed. The topic is suitable for this journal. The provided experiments are accurate and the obtained results are interesting and clearly presented. Hence, the manuscript can be accepted after minor revision: Please write ´´T. gondii´´ in italics wherever it appears in the manuscript. The same for other scientific species names such as ´´Escherichia coli´´.
• Response 1: We thank Reviewer #2 very much for these constructive comments and suggestions on our MS. We have checked our MS carefully, and revised these italics throughout our MS according to your suggestions.
• Comments 2: Discussion: The authors should briefly discuss known IL-24 stimulants as possible adjuvant drugs (see also PMID: 40076586 and 38414326) to prevent parasite infection and their possible role in the combination with the described DNA vaccines.
• Response 2: We are very grateful to Reviewer #2 for these constructive comments and suggestions on our MS. We have added the statements in the “Discussion” accordingly in our MS so as to address your wonderful suggestions. Also, we have added those two references in the “References”, e.g. [46], [47].
• Comments 3: References: Please provide the references in a consistent way (e.g., the title of ref 6 is written with big letters).
• Response 3: We are very grateful to Reviewer #2 for these constructive comments and suggestions on our MS. We have rewritten ref 6 according to your suggestions.