Title
Immunogenicity and immune modulatory effects of in silico predicted L. donovani candidate peptide vaccines
Date Issued
01 January 2012
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Elfaki M.
Khalil E.
De Groot A.
Musa A.
Younis B.
Salih K.
El-Hassan A.
University of Rhode Island
Publisher(s)
Landes Bioscience
Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a serious parasitic disease for which control measures are limited and drug resistance is increasing. First and second generation vaccine candidates have not been successful. The goal of the present study was to select possibly immunogenic L. donovani donovani GP63 peptides using immunoinformatics tools and to test their immunogenicity in vitro. The amino acid sequence of L. donovani donovani GP63 [GenBank accession: ACT31401] was screened using the EpiMatrix algorithm for putative T cell epitopes that would bind to the most common HLA class II alleles (DRB1&z.ast;1101 and DRB1&z.ast;0804) among at-risk populations. Four T cell epitopes were selected from nine potential candidates. Stimulation of whole blood from healthy volunteers using the peptides separately produced mean IFN-γ and IL-4 levels that were not significantly different from negative controls, while the pooled peptides produced a moderate IFN-γ increase in some volunteers. However, mean IL-10 levels were significantly reduced for all individuals compared with controls. The immunogenicity of these epitopes may be harnessed most effectively in a vaccine delivered in combination with immune-modulating adjuvants. © 2012 Landes Bioscience.
Start page
1769
End page
1774
Volume
8
Issue
12
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Endocrinología, Metabolismo (incluyendo diabetes, hormonas)
Inmunología
Subjects
DOI
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84872229598
PubMed ID
Source
Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics
ISSN of the container
21645515
Sponsor(s)
MEEE received financial support from the Federal Ministry of Higher Education and the Institute of Endemic Diseases, University of Khartoum. The contribution of Ryan Tassone (EpiVax) to the editing of the manuscript is gratefully acknowledged.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus