Immunoglobulin uptake and processing by Schistosoma mansoni

Sm10.3, a member of the micro-exon gene 4 (MEG-4) family, induces erythrocyte agglutination in vitro and partially protects vaccinated mice against Schistosoma mansoni infection

BACKGROUND

The parasitic flatworm Schistosoma mansoni is a blood fluke that causes schistosomiasis. Current schistosomiasis control strategies are mainly based on chemotherapy, but many researchers believe that the best long-term strategy to control disease is a combination of drug treatment and immunization with an anti-schistosome vaccine. Numerous antigens that are expressed at the interface between the parasite and the mammalian host have been assessed. Among the most promising molecules are the proteins present in the tegument and digestive tract of the parasite.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

In this study, we evaluated the potential of Sm10.3, a member of the micro-exon gene 4 (MEG-4) family, for use as part of a recombinant vaccine. We confirmed by real-time PCR that Sm10.3 was expressed at all stages of the parasite life cycle. The localization of Sm10.3 on the surface and lumen of the esophageal and intestinal tract in adult worms and lung-stage schistosomula was confirmed by confocal microscopy. We also show preliminary evidence that rSm10.3 induces erythrocyte agglutination in vitro. Immunization of mice with rSm10.3 induced a mixed Th1/Th2-type response, as IFN-γ, TNF-α, and low levels of IL-5 were detected in the supernatant of cultured splenocytes. The protective effect conferred by vaccination with rSm10.3 was demonstrated by 25.5-32% reduction in the worm burden, 32.9-43.6% reduction in the number of eggs per gram of hepatic tissue, a 23.8% reduction in the number of granulomas, an 11.8% reduction in the area of the granulomas and a 39.8% reduction in granuloma fibrosis.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE

Our data suggest that Sm10.3 is a potential candidate for use in developing a multi-antigen vaccine to control schistosomiasis and provide the first evidence for a possible role for Sm10.3 in the blood feeding process.

Lipid core peptide targeting the cathepsin D hemoglobinase of Schistosoma mansoni as a component of a schistosomiasis vaccine

The self-adjuvanting lipid core peptide (LCP) system offers a safe alternative vaccine delivery strategy, eliminating the need for additional adjuvants such as CpG Alum. In this study, we adopted the LCP as a scaffold for an epitope located on the surface of the cathepsin D hemoglobinase (Sm-CatD) of the human blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni. Sm-CatD plays a pivotal role in digestion of the fluke's bloodmeal and has been shown to be efficacious as a subunit vaccine in a murine model of human schistosomiasis. Using molecular modeling we showed that S. mansoni cathepsin D possesses a predicted surface exposed α-helix (A₂₆₃K) that corresponds to an immunodominant helix and target of enzyme-neutralizing antibodies against Necator americanus APR-1 (Na-APR-1), the orthologous protease and vaccine antigen from blood-feeding hookworms. The A₂₆₃K epitope was engineered as two peptide variants, one of which was flanked at both termini with a coil maintaining sequence, thereby promoting the helical characteristics of the native A₂₆₃K epitope. Some of the peptides were fused to a self-adjuvanting lipid core scaffold to generate LCPs. Mice were vaccinated with unadjuvanted peptides, peptides formulated with Freund's adjuvants, or LCPs. Antibodies generated to LCPs recognized native Sm-CatD within a soluble adult schistosome extract, and almost completely abolished its enzymatic activity in vitro. Using immunohistochemistry we showed that anti-LCP antibodies bound to the native Sm-CatD protein in the esophagus and anterior regions of the gastrodermis of adult flukes. Vaccines offer an alternative control strategy in the fight against schistosomiasis, and further development of LCPs containing multiple epitopes from this and other vaccine antigens should become a research priority.

The schistosome in the mammalian host: understanding the mechanisms of adaptation

In this review, we envisage the host environment, not as a hostile one, since the schistosome thrives there, but as one in which the relationship between the two organisms consists of constant communication, through signalling mechanisms involving sense organs, surface glycocalyx, surface membrane and internal organs of the parasite, with host fluids and cells. The surface and secretions of the schistosome egg have very different properties from those of other parasite stages, but adapted for the dispersal of the eggs and for the preservation of host liver function. We draw from studies of mammalian cells and other organisms to indicate how further work might be carried out on the signalling function of the surface glycocalyx, the raft structure of the surface and existence of pores in the surface membrane, the repair of the surface membrane, the role of the membrane structure in ion channel function (including recent work on the actin cytoskeleton and calcium channels) and the possible role of P-glycoproteins in the adaptation of the parasite to its environment. We are speculative in some areas, such as the suggestions that variability in surface properties of schistosomes may relate to the existence of membrane rafts and that parasite communities may exhibit quorum sensing. This speculative approach is adopted with the hope that future work on the whole organisms and their interactions will be encouraged.