| Summary: | <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> (<i>T. gondii</i>) is an obligate intracellular protozoan that can elicit a robust immune response during infection. Macrophage cells have been shown to play an important role in the immune response against <i>T. gondii</i>. In our previous study, the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF-5A) gene of <i>T. gondii</i> was found to influence the invasion and replication of tachyzoites. In this study, the recombinant protein of <i>T. gondii</i> eIF-5A (r<i>Tg</i>eIF-5A) was incubated with murine macrophages, and the regulatory effect of <i>Tg</i>eIF-5A on macrophages was characterized. Immunofluorescence assay showed that <i>Tg</i>eIF-5A was able to bind to macrophages and partially be internalized. The Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) level and chemotaxis of macrophages stimulated with <i>Tg</i>eIF-5A were reduced. However, the phagocytosis and apoptosis of macrophages were amplified by <i>Tg</i>eIF-5A. Meanwhile, the cell viability experiment indicated that <i>Tg</i>eIF-5A can promote the viability of macrophages, and in the secretion assays, <i>Tg</i>eIF-5A can induce the secretion of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and nitric oxide (NO) from macrophages. These findings demonstrate that eIF-5A of <i>T. gondii</i> can modulate the immune response of murine macrophages in vitro, which may provide a reference for further research on developing <i>T. gondii</i> vaccines.
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