In:
Infection and Immunity, American Society for Microbiology, Vol. 69, No. 1 ( 2001-01), p. 245-251
Kurzfassung:
Leishmania major is a protozoan parasite that causes chronic cutaneous lesions that often leave disfiguring scars. Infections in mice have demonstrated that leishmanial vaccines that include interleukin-12 (IL-12) as an adjuvant are able to induce protective immunity. In this study, we assessed the safety, immunopotency, and adjuvant potential of two doses of IL-12 when used with a killed L. major vaccine in vervet monkeys. The induction of cell-mediated immunity following vaccination was determined by measuring delayed-type hypersensitivity, in vitro lymphocyte proliferation, and gamma interferon (IFN-γ) production. Protection was assessed by challenging the animals with L. major parasites and monitoring the course of infection. At low doses of IL-12 (10 μg), a small increase in the parameters of cell-mediated immunity was observed, relative to those in animals that received antigen without IL-12. However, none of these animals were protected against a challenge infection. At higher doses of IL-12 (30 μg), a substantial increase in Leishmania -specific immune responses was observed, and monkeys immunized with antigen and IL-12 exhibited an IFN-γ response that was as great as that in animals that had resolved a primary infection and were immune. Nevertheless, despite the presence of correlates of protection, the disease course was only slightly altered, and protection was low compared to that in self-cured monkeys. These data suggest that protection against leishmaniasis may require more than the activation of Leishmania- specific IFN-γ-producing T cells, which has important implications for designing a vaccine against leishmaniasis.
Materialart:
Online-Ressource
ISSN:
0019-9567
,
1098-5522
DOI:
10.1128/IAI.69.1.245-251.2001
Sprache:
Englisch
Verlag:
American Society for Microbiology
Publikationsdatum:
2001
ZDB Id:
1483247-1
Permalink
