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DNA prime‐protein boost vaccine encoding HLA ‐A2, HLA‐A24 and HLA‐ DR 1 restricted epitopes of Ca NA 2 against visceral leishmaniasis
Author(s) -
He Jinlei,
Huang Fan,
Zhang Jianhui,
Chen Han,
Chen Qiwei,
Zhang Junrong,
Li Jiao,
Zheng Zhiwan,
Chen Dali,
Chen Jianping
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.297
H-Index - 133
eISSN - 1365-2567
pISSN - 0019-2805
DOI - 10.1111/imm.13007
Subject(s) - visceral leishmaniasis , epitope , immunogenicity , dna vaccination , virology , leishmaniasis , biology , immunology , leishmania , adjuvant , antigen , human leukocyte antigen , immunization , parasite hosting , world wide web , computer science
Summary Visceral leishmaniasis is a tropical and neglected disease with an estimated 200 000–400 000 cases and 60 000 deaths worldwide each year. Currently, no clinically valid vaccine is available for this disease. In this study, we formulated DNA and protein vaccines encoding HLA ‐A2, HLA‐A24 and HLA‐ DR 1 restricted epitopes of Ca NA 2 against visceral leishmaniasis. We predicted the secondary and tertiary structures, surface properties, subcellular localization, potential binding sites and HLA ‐A2, HLA‐A24 and HLA‐ DR 1 restricted epitopes of Ca NA 2. The best candidate CpG ODN (2395, M362, D‐ SL 03 or 685) was screened out as a DNA vaccine adjuvant. We also prepared Kmp‐11 and Kmp‐11/Ca NA 2 DNA and protein vaccines, respectively, for comparison. BALB /c mice were immunized with a DNA prime‐protein boost immunization strategy and challenged with a newly isolated Leishmania strain from an individual with visceral leishmaniasis. The IgG antibody titers showed that our vaccine had strong immunogenicity with a long duration, especially cellular immunity. The spleen parasite burden of each group demonstrated that the Ca NA 2 vaccine had a certain immune protective effect on visceral leishmaniasis in BALB /c mice, and the amastigote reduction rate reached 76%. Preliminary safety tests confirmed the safety of the vaccine. Our work demonstrates that the HLA ‐A2, HLA‐A24 and HLA‐ DR 1 restricted epitope Ca NA 2 DNA prime‐protein boost vaccine may be a safe and effective epitope vaccine candidate against visceral leishmaniasis.