DNA vaccine for prevention and treatment of Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Advances in Biomedical Sciences

CAZORLA SI; MATOS MN; RAMIREZ CV; CERNY N; FRANK FM; MALCHIODI EL

Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad de Buenos Aires

Simposio; International Symposium of the International Master in Biomedical Sciences; 2008

IMBS

The main goal of this project is the development of vaccine prototypes able to augment the anti-T. Cruzi immune response without exacerbating tissue inflamation. We performed different treatments given prophylactically before infection or therapeutically after acute infection. For this purpose we cloned in prokariotic and eukariotic vectors, different proteins that were crucial for T.cruzi life-cycle. Some of them were: Cruzipain (a major lysosomal cysteine proteinase), Tc52 (a glutathione S-trasnferases), Tc24 (trypomastigote excretory-secretory) and Complement regulartory protein (CRP). The proposed studies are expected to provide the basis for the design of multicomponent vaccine, including natural, recombinant or/and DNA-based anti-T. cruzi vaccine, which may ultimately be used not only to protect humans at risk of infection, but also may alleviate or prevent the pathogenic responses characteristic of chronic Chagas’ disease by reducing or perhaps eliminating tissue parasites from infected patients.