Induction of Immune Responses by Dna Vaccines Formulated With Dendrimer and Poly (Methyl Methacrylate) (Pmma) Nano-Adjuvants in Balb/C Mice Infected With Leishmania Major Publisher



Tabatabaie F¹ ; Samarghandi N² ; Zarrati S³ ; Maleki F⁴ ; Ardestani MS⁵ ; Elmi T¹ ; Mosawi SH⁶
Source: Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences Published:2018

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease induced by a protozoan from the genus Leishmania. No effective vaccine has yet been developed against the disease. AIM: In this work, two nano-vaccines, TSA recombinant plasmid and dendrimer and poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanoparticles (as adjuvants), were designed and tested for their immunogenicity in BALB/c mice. METHODS: After the plasmid construction and preparation of adjuvants, three intramuscular injections of the nano-vaccines (100 µg) and the recombinant TSA protein (20 µg) were subcutaneously performed. Eventually, the challenged animals were infected with the parasites (1*106 promastigotes). After the last injections of the nano-vaccines, the responses of their antibody subclasses and cytokines were assessed via ELISA method before and after the challenge. RESULTS: This study revealed that the new nano-vaccines were strong and effective in inducing specific antibody and cellular responses and reducing the parasite burden in the spleen compared to the control groups of Leishmania major-infected BALB/c mice. CONCLUSION: Based on the results, we can suggest that the formulated vaccines are suitable candidates for further studies in the field of leishmaniasis control. © 2018 Fatemeh Tabatabaie, Nasim Samarghandi, Somayeh Zarrati, Fatemeh Maleki, Mehdi Shafiee Ardestani, Taher Elmi, Sayed Hussain Mosawi.