Immunogenicity and Efficacy of Polytope DNA Vaccine Against Cutaneous Leishmaniosis In Vivo

Background: About 12 million people are affected by les leishmaniosis worldwide. It is an important public health problem due to the difficulty in its control and causing epidemic outbreaks. An effective anti-leishmanial vaccine remains elusive. Isolated dominant epitopes arranged as polytope DNA vaccine represent a promising approach. Methods: Balb/c mice were vaccinated subcutaneously with pCDNA3.1/LAKJB93 DNA and challenged with Leishmania major promastigotes; then, the level of interferon (INF)- and interleukin (IL)-4 were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Production of immunoglobulin (Ig)-G1 and IgG2a antigen specific antibodies were measured against LAKJB93. Results: The enhanced production of antigen-specific INF- and IgG2a in serum showed the stimulation of T helper type 1 (Th1) response. This protectiveimmune response was induced by the expression of pcDNA3.1/ LAKJB93 plasmid against leishmaniosis and therefore, pcDNA3.1/ LAKJB93 can be considered an appropriate vaccine for leishmaniosis. Conclusions: Immunization with DNA vaccine may offer an effective route to prevent leishmaniosis.