Reduction of worm fecundity and canine host blood loss mediates protection against hookworm infection elicited by vaccination with recombinant Ac-16.
Hookworm infection is one of most important parasitic infection of humans, occurring in 740 million people. Here we report the protective vaccination of dogs with Ac-16, an immunodominant surface antigen from the hookworm Ancylostoma caninum. We show that immunization with Ac-16 formulated with AS03 elicited specific humoral and cellular immune responses and provided partial protection against hookworm infection and morbidity as evidenced by a significant reduction of hookworm egg counts (64% reduction; P = 0.0078) and worm-induced blood loss (P < 0.05). Moreover, specific anti-Ac-16 antibodies recognized the native protein on the surface of third-stage larvae and blocked their migration through tissue in vitro. Our data support the use of Ac-16 as a potential candidate for vaccination against hookworm infection.
Fujiwara
Ricardo T
RT
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine, The George Washington University, Ross Hall Room 727, 2300 Eye St. NW, Washington, DC 20037, USA.
Zhan
Bin
B
Mendez
Susana
S
Loukas
Alex
A
Bueno
Lilian L
LL
Wang
Yan
Y
Plieskatt
Jordan
J
Oksov
Yelena
Y
Lustigman
Sara
S
Bottazzi
Maria Elena
ME
Hotez
Peter
P
Bethony
Jeffrey M
JM
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000722:Ancylostoma / Q000276:immunology*; D000740:Anemia / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000097:blood; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006725:Hookworm Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010270:Parasite Egg Count; D014611:Vaccination; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000276:immunology*
D000909:Antibodies, Helminth; D016207:Cytokines; D015801:Helminth Proteins; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic