title: Experimental Vaccines against Chagas Disease: A Journey through History.
abstract: Chagas disease, or American trypanosomiasis, which is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is primarily a vector disease endemic in 21 Latin American countries, including Mexico. Although many vector control programs have been implemented, T. cruzi has not been eradicated. The development of an anti-T. cruzi vaccine for prophylactic and therapeutic purposes may significantly contribute to the transmission control of Chagas disease. Immune protection against experimental infection with T. cruzi has been studied since the second decade of the last century, and many types of immunogens have been used subsequently, such as killed or attenuated parasites and new DNA vaccines. This primary prevention strategy appears feasible, effective, safe, and inexpensive, although problems remain. The objective of this review is to summarize the research efforts about the development of vaccines against Chagas disease worldwide. A thorough literature review was conducted by searching PubMed with the terms "Chagas disease" and "American trypanosomiasis" together with "vaccines" or "immunization". In addition, reports and journals not cited in PubMed were identified. Publications in English, Spanish, and Portuguese were reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Juan Badiano No. 1, Colonia Sección XVI, 14080 Delegación Tlalpan, DF, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Olivia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Morales
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Autónoma de Campeche, Avenida Agustín Melgar No. 3, 24030 Campeche, CAM, Mexico.
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Monteón-Padilla
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Juan Badiano No. 1, Colonia Sección XVI, 14080 Delegación Tlalpan, DF, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Silvia C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Carrillo-Sánchez
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Juan Badiano No. 1, Colonia Sección XVI, 14080 Delegación Tlalpan, DF, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Martha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rios-Castro
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Juan Badiano No. 1, Colonia Sección XVI, 14080 Delegación Tlalpan, DF, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martínez-Cruz
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias Microbiológicas, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, 14 Sur y Avenida San Claudio, Ciudad Universitaria, 72570 Puebla, PUE, Mexico.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carabarin-Lima
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Juan Badiano No. 1, Colonia Sección XVI, 14080 Delegación Tlalpan, DF, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Minerva
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arce-Fonseca
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008800:Mexico; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000276:immunology; D014611:Vaccination / Q000379:methods; D019444:Vaccines, DNA / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D019444:Vaccines, DNA