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Imhof D, Hänggeli KPA, De Sousa MCF, Vigneswaran A, Hofmann L, Amdouni Y, Boubaker G, Müller J, Hemphill A. Working towards the development of vaccines and chemotherapeutics against neosporosis-With all of its ups and downs-Looking ahead. ADVANCES IN PARASITOLOGY 2024; 124:91-154. [PMID: 38754928 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apar.2024.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Neospora caninum is an apicomplexan and obligatory intracellular parasite, which is the leading cause of reproductive failure in cattle and affects other farm and domestic animals, but also induces neuromuscular disease in dogs of all ages. In cattle, neosporosis is an important health problem, and has a considerable economic impact. To date there is no protective vaccine or chemotherapeutic treatment on the market. Immuno-prophylaxis has long been considered as the best control measure. Proteins involved in host cell interaction and invasion, as well as antigens mediating inflammatory responses have been the most frequently assessed vaccine targets. However, despite considerable efforts no effective vaccine has been introduced to the market to date. The development of effective compounds to limit the effects of vertical transmission of N. caninum tachyzoites has emerged as an alternative or addition to vaccination, provided suitable targets and safe and efficacious drugs can be identified. Additionally, the combination of both treatment strategies might be interesting to further increase protectivity against N. caninum infections and to decrease the duration of treatment and the risk of potential drug resistance. Well-established and standardized animal infection models are key factors for the evaluation of promising vaccine and compound candidates. The vast majority of experimental animal experiments concerning neosporosis have been performed in mice, although in recent years the numbers of experimental studies in cattle and sheep have increased. In this review, we discuss the recent findings concerning the progress in drug and vaccine development against N. caninum infections in mice and ruminants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Imhof
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Kai Pascal Alexander Hänggeli
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Maria Cristina Ferreira De Sousa
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Anitha Vigneswaran
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Larissa Hofmann
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Yosra Amdouni
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Ghalia Boubaker
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Joachim Müller
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Andrew Hemphill
- Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
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Fernandes Fidelis C, Silva de Araújo L, Prates-Patarroyo PA, Martins-Kalks KH, Licursi de Oliveira L, Vargas Viloria MI, Tafur-Gómez GA, Patarroyo Salcedo JH. Immunisation with Neospora caninum subunits rsNcSAG4 and rsNcGRA1 (NcSAG4 and NcGRA1 epitopes construct) in BALB/c mice: the profile of the immune response and controlling the vertical transmission. Parasitol Res 2023; 123:58. [PMID: 38110570 PMCID: PMC10728228 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-023-08020-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023]
Abstract
Neospora caninum is an apicomplexan protozoan that causes neosporosis, which has a high economic impact on cattle herds with no available vaccine. During infection, the secretion of dense granules and the expression of surface antigens play an important role in hosting immunomodulation. However, some epitopes of those antigens are immunogenic, and using these fractions could improve the subunit antigens in vaccine design. This study evaluates the recombinant peptides rsNcGRA1 and rsNcSAG4 derived from NcGRA1 and NcSAG4 native antigens as vaccine candidates produced by a fermentative process in the yeast culture system of Komagataella phaffii strain Km71, confirmed by colony PCR, SDS-PAGE, and western blotting. The assay was conducted in BALB/c mice using the peptides at low (25 μg) and standard (50 μg) dosages in monovalent and combined administrations at three time points with saponin as an adjuvant assessing the immunogenicity by antibodies response and cytokine production. We challenge the females after pregnancy confirmation using 2 × 105 NC-1 tachyzoites previously propagated in Vero cells. We assessed the chronic infection in dams and vertical transmission in the offspring by PCR and histopathology. Mice, especially those immunised with combined peptides and monovalent rsNcGRA1 at a standard dose, controlling the chronic infection in dams with the absence of clinical manifestations, showed an immune response with induction of IgG1, a proper balance between Th1/Th2 cytokines and reduced vertical transmission in the pups. In contrast, dams inoculated with a placebo vaccine showed clinical signs, low-scored brain lesions, augmented chronic infection with 80% positivity, 31% mortality in pups, and 81% vertical transmission. These findings indicate that rsNcGRA1 peptides in monovalent and combined with rsNCSAG4 at standard dose are potential vaccine candidates and improve the protective immune response against neosporosis in mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cintia Fernandes Fidelis
- Laboratório de Biologia e Controle de Hematozoários e Vetores, Departamento de Veterinária, Instituto de Biotecnologia Aplicada à Agropecuária - BIOAGRO, Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, CEP, Viçosa, MG, 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Leandro Silva de Araújo
- Laboratório de Biologia e Controle de Hematozoários e Vetores, Departamento de Veterinária, Instituto de Biotecnologia Aplicada à Agropecuária - BIOAGRO, Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, CEP, Viçosa, MG, 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Pablo A Prates-Patarroyo
- Laboratório de Biologia e Controle de Hematozoários e Vetores, Departamento de Veterinária, Instituto de Biotecnologia Aplicada à Agropecuária - BIOAGRO, Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, CEP, Viçosa, MG, 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Karlos H Martins-Kalks
- Laboratório de Biologia e Controle de Hematozoários e Vetores, Departamento de Veterinária, Instituto de Biotecnologia Aplicada à Agropecuária - BIOAGRO, Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, CEP, Viçosa, MG, 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Leandro Licursi de Oliveira
- Laboratório de Imunoquímica e Glicobiologia, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, CEP, Viçosa, MG, 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Marlene Isabel Vargas Viloria
- Laboratório de Biologia e Controle de Hematozoários e Vetores, Departamento de Veterinária, Instituto de Biotecnologia Aplicada à Agropecuária - BIOAGRO, Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, CEP, Viçosa, MG, 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Gabriel A Tafur-Gómez
- Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales - U.D.C.A, Bogotá, 111166, Colombia.
| | - Joaquín Hernán Patarroyo Salcedo
- Laboratório de Biologia e Controle de Hematozoários e Vetores, Departamento de Veterinária, Instituto de Biotecnologia Aplicada à Agropecuária - BIOAGRO, Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, CEP, Viçosa, MG, 36570-900, Brazil.
- Patsos Biotecnologia, Parque tecnológico de Viçosa, CEP, Viçosa, MG, 36570-900, Brazil.
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Basmenj ER, Arastonejad M, Mamizadeh M, Alem M, KhalatbariLimaki M, Ghiabi S, Khamesipour A, Majidiani H, Shams M, Irannejad H. Engineering and design of promising T-cell-based multi-epitope vaccine candidates against leishmaniasis. Sci Rep 2023; 13:19421. [PMID: 37940672 PMCID: PMC10632461 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46408-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a very common parasitic infection in subtropical areas worldwide. Throughout decades, there have been challenges in vaccine design and vaccination against CL. The present study introduced novel T-cell-based vaccine candidates containing IFN-γ Inducing epitopic fragments from Leishmania major (L. major) glycoprotein 46 (gp46), cathepsin L-like and B-like proteases, histone H2A, glucose-regulated protein 78 (grp78) and stress-inducible protein 1 (STI-1). For this aim, top-ranked human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-specific, IFN-γ Inducing, antigenic, CD4+ and CD8+ binders were highlighted. Four vaccine candidates were generated using different spacers (AAY, GPGPG, GDGDG) and adjuvants (RS-09 peptide, human IFN-γ, a combination of both, Mycobacterium tuberculosis Resuscitation promoting factor E (RpfE)). Based on the immune simulation profile, those with RS-09 peptide (Leish-App) and RpfE (Leish-Rpf) elicited robust immune responses and their tertiary structure were further refined. Also, molecular docking of the selected vaccine models with the human toll-like receptor 4 showed proper interactions, particularly for Leish-App, for which molecular dynamics simulations showed a stable connection with TLR-4. Upon codon optimization, both models were finally ligated into the pET28a( +) vector. In conclusion, two potent multi-epitope vaccine candidates were designed against CL and evaluated using comprehensive in silico methods, while further wet experiments are, also, recommended.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mahshid Arastonejad
- Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Mina Mamizadeh
- Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran
- Zoonotic Diseases Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran
| | - Mahsa Alem
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran
| | - Mahdi KhalatbariLimaki
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
| | - Shadan Ghiabi
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Khamesipour
- Center for Research and Training in Skin Diseases and Leprosy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 14155-6383, Iran
| | - Hamidreza Majidiani
- Healthy Aging Research Centre, Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences, Neyshabur, Iran.
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences, Neyshabur, Iran.
| | - Morteza Shams
- Zoonotic Diseases Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.
| | - Hamid Irannejad
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
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Kordi B, Basmenj ER, Majidiani H, Basati G, Sargazi D, Nazari N, Shams M. In Silico Characterization of an Important Metacyclogenesis Marker in Leishmania donovani, HASPB1, as a Potential Vaccine Candidate. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2023; 2023:3763634. [PMID: 37323936 PMCID: PMC10266922 DOI: 10.1155/2023/3763634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis is a life-threatening infectious disease worldwide. Extensive experiments have been done to introduce potential vaccine candidates to combat leishmaniasis. The present study was done to evaluate Leishmania donovani hydrophilic acylated surface protein B1 as a potential vaccine candidate using in silico methods. For this aim, server-based predictions were performed regarding physicochemical characteristics, solubility, antigenicity, allergenicity, signal peptide, transmembrane domain, and posttranslational modifications (PTMs). Also, secondary and tertiary structures were predicted using NetSurfP-3.0 and I-TASSER, respectively. The 3D model was further subjected to refinement and validation, and promising B-cell, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL; human, dog), and helper T-lymphocyte (HTL; human) epitopes were predicted. The protein had a molecular weight of 42.19 kDa, with high solubility (0.749), stability (instability index: 21.34), and hydrophilicity (GRAVY: -2.322). No signal peptide or transmembrane domain was predicted, and the most abundant PTMs were phosphorylation, O-glycosylation, and acetylation. Many coils and disordered regions existed in the secondary structure analysis, and the tertiary model had a good confidence score (-0.79). Next, the ProSA-web and PROCHECK tools showed adequate improvements in the refined model compared to the crude model. Only 4 shared B-cell epitopes among three web servers (ABCpred, BepiPred 2.0, and SVMTriP) were shown to be antigenic, nonallergenic, and with good water solubility. Also, five potent CTL epitopes in dogs and five in humans were predicted. Notably, two HTL epitopes were found to be potential IFN-γ inducers. In conclusion, our results demonstrated several immunogenic epitopes in this protein, which could be directed towards multiepitope vaccine design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bahareh Kordi
- Department of Agricultural Science, Technical and Vocational University (TVU), Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Hamidreza Majidiani
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences, Neyshabur, Iran
- Healthy Aging Research Centre, Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences, Neyshabur, Iran
| | - Gholam Basati
- Zoonotic Diseases Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran
| | - Dariush Sargazi
- Veterinary Medicine, Zabol Veterinary Network, Zabol, Sistan and Baluchistan, Iran
| | - Naser Nazari
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Morteza Shams
- Zoonotic Diseases Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran
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