Intranasal vaccination with extracellular serine proteases of Leishmania amazonensis confers protective immunity to BALB/c mice against infection.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Previously, we demonstrated that unlike subcutaneous or intramuscular vaccination, intranasal vaccination of BALB/c mice with whole Leishmania amazonensis antigens leads to protection against cutaneous leishmaniasis. Here, the role of parasite serine proteases in the protective immunity was investigated.

FINDINGS:

Serine Proteases were partially purified from both soluble (LaSP-Sol) and extracellular (LaSP-Ex) Leishmania amazonensis promastigote extracts by aprotinin-agarose chromatography. BALB/c mice were intranasally immunized with LaSP-Sol and LaSP-Ex prior to infection with L. amazonensis. LaSP-Ex but not LaSP-Sol vaccination led to significantly smaller lesions and parasite burdens as compared with non-vaccinated controls. Protection was accompanied by systemic Th1 polarization with increased IFN-γ and decreased IL-4 and IL-10 splenic production. Likewise, increased production of IFN-γ, IL-12 and IL-4 concomitant with decreased TGF-β and TNF-α was locally observed in the infected footpad.

CONCLUSION:

This study indicates that extracellular serine proteases of L. amazonensis are strong candidates for a more defined intranasal vaccine against cutaneous leishmaniasis.

• Authors: Herbert Leonel de Matos Guedes, Beatriz Lilian da Silva Costa, Suzana Passos Chaves, Daniel Cláudio de Oliveira Gomes, Joshua Daniel Nosanchuk, Salvatore Giovanni De Simone, Bartira Rossi-Bergmann
• Journal: Parasites & vectors (Parasit Vectors) Vol. 7 Pg. 448 (Sep 19 2014) ISSN: 1756-3305 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 25239157 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)

Chemical References

• Antigens, Protozoan
• Cytokines
• Protozoan Proteins
• Protozoan Vaccines
• Serine Proteases

Topics

• Administration, Intranasal
• Animals
• Antigens, Protozoan (immunology)
• Cytokines (metabolism)
• Female
• Leishmania mexicana (enzymology, immunology)
• Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous (prevention & control)
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred BALB C
• Protozoan Proteins (immunology)
• Protozoan Vaccines (administration & dosage)
• Serine Proteases (immunology)
• Vaccination